Competition Intensifies in Small and Medium-Sized Display Track, Chinese LCD Manufacturers Leverage Customization to Capture Global Markets

The global small and medium-sized display industry is undergoing a new round of technological iteration and market restructuring. Driven by explosive growth in demands from smart wearables, automotive electronics, and medical devices, Chinese liquid crystal display (LCD) enterprises are gaining a competitive edge through their rapid response capabilities in custom liquid crystal modules. Q1 2025 data shows that China’s export value of small and medium-sized LCDs increased by 17% year-on-year, with customized products contributing over 35% of the incremental share—marking the industry’s strategic shift from standardized production to scenario-based customization.

In the medical device sector, custom liquid crystal modules have become the core carriers for technological breakthroughs. Tianshan Optoelectronics developed a 7-inch anti-glare module for intelligent monitors, integrating antibacterial coating and high refresh rate to accurately display vital sign data. The module has obtained EU CE certification and is being exported in bulk. Meanwhile, manufacturers like Tianma Microelectronics collaborated with Mindray Medical to launch a 4.3-inch touch module for low-temperature environments, maintaining 0.1mm touch precision at -40°C and filling a gap in display solutions for polar medical devices. Such highly customized products have not only propelled China’s medical display market scale to exceed $2.5 billion but also increased the localization rate from 42% in 2020 to 68% in 2025.

The automotive display market has emerged as another key battlefield for custom liquid crystal modules. TCL CSOT integrated IPS technology from LG Display’s Guangzhou factory to launch the world’s first 12.3-inch irregular-cut dual-screen for vehicles, featuring 178° wide viewing angle and 2,000 nits brightness to meet L3-level autonomous driving requirements. It has secured orders from automakers like NIO and BYD. Chinese LCD enterprises such as BOE have developed curved lamination processes, improving the high-temperature resistance of automotive modules by 30%, driving projected 2025 shipments of custom automotive screens to exceed 120 million units—triple the 2020 volume.

Customization rivalry in consumer electronics is equally intense. Shenchao Optoelectronics developed a 6.2-inch high-refresh Mini LED module for gaming handhelds, reducing response time to 1ms and cutting costs by 40% compared to similar OLED solutions, successfully entering Nintendo’s supply chain. Chinese LCD manufacturers are even more aggressive in smart home innovations: Skyworth partnered with Xinyun Display Control to launch an 8-inch transparent display module, achieving 70% light transmittance through local dimming technology, now applied in high-end smart refrigerator interactive panels.

China’s display industry is increasingly clear in its path from technological follower to standard setter. Relying on the differentiated advantages of custom liquid crystal modules, Chinese enterprises have captured 31% of the global small and medium-sized display market. Through cross-scenario integration of technologies like Mini LED and Micro LED, they are building an "ecological closed loop" of "Display+AIoT." As leading firms such as TCL CSOT and BOE continue to invest in R&D, China is accelerating its transformation from a "world factory" to a "source of innovation," redefining global competition rules in the display industry.

About CNK

Founded in Shenzhen in 2010, CNK Electronics (CNK in brief) expanded the world leading factory in Longyan, Fujian in 2019. It is a specialized and innovative enterprise specializing in the design, development, production and sales of display products. CNK provides customers with a full range of cost-effective small and medium-sized display modules, solutions, and services with excellent quality worldwide. Oriented in technology and high quality, CNK keeps sustainable development, works to offer customers  better and stable services.