The China structured cabling market is witnessing robust growth, driven by accelerating digital transformation across sectors such as data centers, telecommunications, industrial automation, and smart buildings. Structured cabling solutions, including copper and fiber optic systems, modular connectors, and associated infrastructure, provide a essential foundation for the seamless operation of modern IT environments. With a focus on high-speed data transmission, scalability, and future-ready networking, structured cabling forms the backbone of enterprise and hyperscale data facilities, commercial real estate, and expanding urban smart infrastructure. This market is characterized by rising investments, technological advancements, and evolving standards to support increasing bandwidth requirements, while competition among global and domestic players remains intense.
Latest Market Dynamics
Key Drivers
Surge in data center construction and cloud adoption – With cloud giants and local colocation providers embarking on large-scale data center projects, demand for structured cabling, particularly fiber optic, is rising rapidly. For example, in early 2024, Alibaba Cloud expanded its hyper-scale data centers across China, fueling need for high-capacity structured cabling.
Government initiatives supporting digital infrastructure – State policies underlining smart city development and the China Digital Economy Plan 2025 are driving adoption of modern cabling systems. Schneider Electric launched tailored smart building cabling solutions in China, supporting green city initiatives in 2024.
Key Trends
Rapid shift toward fiber optic solutions for higher bandwidth – As organizations target 5G, IoT, and AI workloads, preference for fiber over copper is soaring. Corning, in March 2024, rolled out a new line of ultra-low loss fiber cables to address hyperscale data center needs.
Adoption of high-category cables (Cat 6A & Cat 7) in commercial and industrial projects – The growing need for future-proof embedded networks is evident among facilities, illustrated by Nexans partnering with local real estate developers to deploy Cat 7 cabling in smart office campuses in 2024.
Key Opportunities
Expanding smart manufacturing sector requiring industrial-grade cabling – ABB announced the setup of an advanced robotics and automation manufacturing hub in China in June 2024, integrating resilient structured cabling for Industry 4.0 applications.
Rise of edge data centers and distributed networks – TE Connectivity revealed its investment in edge-ready structured cabling systems for urban edge data centers in key Chinese provinces in May 2024.
Key Challenges
Complexities of retrofitting legacy infrastructure – Many older buildings and networks are costly and challenging to upgrade, with Legrand reporting on time overruns due to legacy rewiring at urban commercial sites in Q2 2024.
Supply chain volatility affecting component sourcing – Delays and price fluctuations in raw materials and electronic components have impacted cabling system rollouts, with Panduit noting extended lead times for copper cabling delivery in the first half of 2024.
Key Restraints
Intense pricing competition among vendors – Aggressive price-based competition among domestic and global suppliers is putting pressure on profit margins, as noted by Datwyler's Q1 2024 earnings call.
Regulatory compliance complexity for foreign brands – International heavyweights like Prysmian Group have highlighted evolving Chinese safety and certification standards as a bottleneck for rapid product launches in the market as of March 2024.
In 2025, fiber optic cables dominate the structured cabling landscape in China, reflecting the nation’s transition towards high-bandwidth, low-latency applications. While copper cables continue to serve legacy networks and cost-sensitive deployments, modular connectors, patch panels, racks, cabinets, and installation cables form the critical supporting ecosystem that enables flexible physical network architectures. The growing prevalence of smart cities and advanced enterprise data infrastructures further propels demand for future-proof, scalable, and high-performance cabling types.
Data centers remain the single largest application for structured cabling in China in 2025, owing to exponential growth in cloud and hyperscale facilities. Local area networks (LANs) retain their significance within commercial and government buildings, while telecommunication and industrial segments gain traction with escalating 5G, IoT, and automation deployments. This distribution underlines the increasing centrality of robust cabling systems in supporting digital services, business continuity, and sectoral integration.
The revenue trajectory for China’s structured cabling market shows consistent, strong growth from 2020 to 2035. The market is benefiting from nationwide digital infrastructure spending, rapid rise of cloud computing, and extensive network upgrades to support high-speed communication and smart city rollouts. The market revenue is projected to surpass $7,400 Million by 2025, with continuing increases forecasted up to 2035 as emerging technologies and edge computing expand the install base.
Year-on-year growth in the China structured cabling market is highest in the early 2020s, coinciding with the acceleration of data center and digital ecosystem investments. As the market matures, annual growth rates moderate, reflecting ongoing upgrades, replacement cycles, and the saturation of initial demand from greenfield projects. Nevertheless, the market sustains positive YOY momentum throughout the forecast period, buoyed by the cumulative impact of new technology integration.
Eastern China, including major economic zones such as Shanghai and Jiangsu, leads the structured cabling market due to concentration of data centers, multinational headquarters, and advanced technology hubs. Southern China follows, driven by technology manufacturing clusters and innovation policy support, while Northern and Western China regions are witnessing faster relative growth with rising infrastructure investments and smart city initiatives. Regional adoption trends reflect both economic development patterns and targeted government spending.
The market is defined by a mix of global leaders and strong domestic contenders. Players such as CommScope, Panduit, Nexans, and Corning continue to increase their footprint through innovation, partnerships, and tailored solutions for the Chinese landscape. Meanwhile, local players are fast evolving, offering cost-competitive alternatives and localized support, further intensifying the competitive environment and shaping strategic alliances across the industry.
Large enterprises, including data center operators and state-owned telecoms, make up the largest portion of structured cabling demand in China, reflecting big-ticket network infrastructure projects. Medium-sized businesses are increasingly investing in modern cabling for digital competitiveness, while small organizations and startups contribute to ongoing, though modest, baseline demand—particularly as digital transformation permeates deeper into the market.
Study Coverage
Metrics
Details
Years
2020-2035
Base Year
2025
Market Size
Revenue (USD Million)
Regions
Eastern China, Southern China, Other Regions
Segments
By Type (Copper Cables, Fiber Optic Cables, Modular Connectors, Patch Panels & Cross Connects, Racks & Cabinets, Installation Cables), By Application (Data Centers, Local Area Networks (LANs), Wide Area Networks (WANs), Telecommunication, Industrial, Commercial Buildings), By Distribution Channels (Direct Sales, Distributors/Wholesalers, Online, System Integrators, Retail, Value-Added Resellers (VARs)), By Technology (Category 5E, Category 6, Category 6A, Category 7, Fiber, Others), By Organization Size (Small, Medium, Large)
June 2024: ABB inaugurated a robotics-focused smart manufacturing center in Shanghai, equipped with next-generation industrial cabling for digital production lines.
July 2024: Corning launched ultra-high bandwidth fiber cable products for hyperscale data centers at the Shanghai Smart Tech Expo.
August 2024: TE Connectivity announced investment in edge-ready cabling solutions for distributed urban data centers serving the Greater Bay Area.
September 2024: Legrand completed a major retrofitting project at a historic Beijing commercial property, overhauling legacy networks with new modular cabling.
October 2024: Schneider Electric rolled out a green smart building structured cabling solution, supporting net-zero and IoT integration goals in Shenzhen.
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About the Author
Lily
Senior Market Research Analyst
Lily is a Senior Market Research Analyst specializing in market research, industry analysis, and business consulting across Semiconductor & Electronics. Lily brings a commercially grounded perspective to sectors shaped by changing demand, innovation, and competitive dynamics, helping turn complex market trends into clear strategic insights for business decision-makers. With 10+ years of experience across research, analytics, and strategic advisory roles, Lily has helped organizations translate data into actionable growth strategies.
