China's exports of power generators jumped sharply as manufacturers capitalized on surging global demand for computing infrastructure, with high-capacity diesel units driving growth to support energy-intensive data centers, exporters and market watchers said.

The country's exports of power generator units rose 49.66 percent year-on-year to 12.9 billion yuan ($1.89 billion) in the first two months of 2026, with exports of high-capacity diesel generator sets used in data centers surging 131.81 percent, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

Cheng Xiaosong, chairman of the electrical and mechanical products unit of State-owned SUMEC Group Corp in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, said the company's export orders have risen by more than 50 percent year-on-year so far this year. Orders from Germany have more than doubled, while demand from Southeast Asia has also grown strongly.

"These products are mainly used in energy-intensive applications that require highly reliable and uninterrupted power supply, reflecting rapid growth in global computing demand," Cheng said, adding that demand for high-capacity, stable generator sets has driven a surge in the company's exports.

Amid rapid growth in the global computing power market, Chinese companies are stepping up research and development, accelerating product upgrades and rolling out higher-capacity generator sets designed to operate in more complex environments.

Around 600 kilometers away from Nanjing, workers at a workshop of a factory owned by Weichai Holding Group Co in Weifang, Shandong province, recently rolled out a new 4.2-megawatt generator, nearly doubling the capacity of mainstream models currently in the market.

The generator delivers the same output with a smaller carbon footprint, with a more integrated system and fewer auxiliary components, said Wu Yongqiang, an engineer at the group's research institute of large-bore engines.

The product has already been exported to the United States, Southeast Asia and Europe. Amid strong global demand for computing infrastructure, Weichai Holding Group has invested in developing higher-capacity and more intelligent systems.

"As product upgrades accelerate, we are tailoring designs to suit diverse overseas operating conditions," said Yang Zhihua, general manager of Weifang Ailite Mechanical and Electrical Equipment Manufacturing Co, another Weifang-based power generator manufacturer.

Yang said additional heating systems are needed in colder regions, while in markets such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, extreme heat can cause machines to shut down, requiring specific technical solutions to ensure stable operation.

Agg Power Technology (Fuzhou) Co Ltd, a power equipment manufacturer based in Fuzhou, Fujian province, exported more than 1,000 generator units in the first two months, with export value rising 63.21 percent year-on-year to 168 million yuan.

"Our diesel generator sets are widely used in data centers, large-scale mining operations, commercial complexes and hospitals. Since the start of this year, as infrastructure development in Southeast Asia has gathered pace, markets such as Malaysia and the Philippines have emerged as new growth drivers for our exports," said Zhu Shuhua, the company's president.

Fujian's exports of power generation equipment and related components rose 16.2 percent year-on-year to 1.81 billion yuan in the first two months, according to Fuzhou Customs.

Yao Chunde, a professor of mechanical engineering at Tianjin University, said China's power generation equipment is highly competitive globally, supported by a complete supply chain and faster delivery than many overseas peers.

He said that investment by several countries in data centers and artificial intelligence-related infrastructure will continue to underpin demand for high-capacity, reliable power solutions globally.