Japanese Brands Retreat, China Leads: Midea Drives Shift of Central Air Conditioning Technology Discourse Eastward

(Source: Hainei News)

At the 2026 AWE event, behind the bustling crowd is the intersection of technology and industry. Here, it is clear to feel that the industry shift in the air conditioning sector is quietly underway: the technological moat long held by Japanese brands dominating central air conditioning is gradually weakening, while domestic brands like Midea are making a historic leap from “following” to “surpassing.”

The central air conditioning industry has gone through three key development stages: the foreign monopoly period (1993-2005), during which Japanese brands held over 90% of the market share with technological advantages and high product prices; the rise of domestic brands (2006-2015), led by Midea, which achieved a breakthrough with variable frequency technology, increasing market share to 36.2% and lowering prices to 60% of Japanese brands; and the comprehensive popularization and domestic dominance period (2016-present), with domestic air conditioners becoming mainstream. By 2025, Midea held a 36% market share and led the development of core technologies such as low-frequency steady-state operation.

As a national representative of China’s air conditioning industry, Midea’s household central air conditioning no longer aims solely for market share leadership but positions itself as a “global technology barrier breaker,” facing a historic question: how can Chinese brands leverage foundational technology and independent R&D to achieve a true counterattack?

Targeting global leadership and competing with foreign brands

Previously, consumers held a stereotypical view that Japanese central air conditioning was “more professional.” Historically, Daikin dominated the residential multi-split market with its unique fully self-developed compressor, refrigerant, and inverter system, setting industry standards; Mitsubishi Electric was known for military-grade quality; Hitachi balanced technology; Toshiba pioneered inverter technology with dual-rotor compressors; Mitsubishi Heavy Industries relied on heavy industry DNA, emphasizing aerospace-grade reliability.

Midea understands that only with core technology can it truly capture consumers’ minds. Although strong competitors like Daikin and Hitachi still exist in the central air conditioning field, Gree and Midea have also entered the competition. In the household air conditioning sector, measured by development volume, revenue, and focus on home environments, Midea ranks first. It has reached new heights in product coverage, user research, and industry vertical integration, with competitive strength in compressor technology, heat exchange technology, inverter technology, consumer comfort research, and intelligent layout—capable of competing with Japanese brands.

Midea’s core technology, the “ACE Low-Frequency Steady-State System,” is not just an isolated technology but a systematic solution. Through Midea’s fully self-developed ultra-low frequency compressor, steady-state driving algorithm, and intelligent algorithms, it creates a super low-frequency technical architecture that enables precise air regulation in living spaces, meeting users’ demands for greater comfort, energy efficiency, and quietness.

Relying on this core technology, Midea’s fourth-generation flagship products demonstrate the “Comfort Golden Triangle,” reflecting Midea’s shift from “scale leadership” to “technological leadership,” and proving that true comfort is not just about peak performance but stable output across all scenarios, times, and conditions.

Today, domestic brands are following and mimicking the low-frequency technology of the fourth-generation flagship, but often lack the high-frequency hard power of continuous jet boosting or the comfort loop of dual air outlets, making it difficult to protect user comfort from outdoor to indoor units. Meanwhile, the once-glorious Japanese brands are also beginning to explore new technological fields pioneered by Midea.

Introducing the ACE Low-Frequency Steady-State System to build the “Comfort Golden Triangle”

Midea’s innovation is driven by deep user insights and a spirit of continuous improvement among its technical staff. Over the past five years, R&D investment in the air conditioning field has approached 18 billion RMB, with increasing proportion.

“Our internal culture emphasizes integrity and focus on consumer needs—using an engineer’s mindset to explore and satisfy unmet demands,” said Lei Junjie, Director of R&D for Midea’s household central air conditioning.

User insights reveal that a major characteristic of Chinese households using central air conditioning is “small load, high frequency”: about 80% of the time, only 1-2 indoor units are turned on, especially at night when only the bedroom is active. Traditional high-power outdoor units (like 5-6 HP) face the demand of small rooms (0.2-0.3 HP), often resulting in “big engine pulling a small cart,” with frequent start-stop cycles, temperature control issues, noise, and high energy consumption.

Midea’s super low-frequency steady-state technology (ACE Low-Frequency Steady-State System) can achieve “stable output” at low frequencies, satisfying users’ needs for all-night sleep and energy savings. By coordinating self-developed compressor hardware and driving algorithms, it can enable a 5 HP compressor to stably output at 1 HP or even lower, maintaining constant temperature in an 8㎡ small bedroom all night without start-stop. This is not just a frequency reduction but a systemic solution to issues like compressor sealing leaks, oil circulation, and refrigerant phase control.

The engineer explained that these hardware designs are built from scratch, even including specialized coatings on sliding plates to reduce friction, providing a quieter experience for users.

Users want quietness from low-frequency operation but also expect the powerful performance only high-frequency operation can deliver. Because only high frequency can handle extreme weather and maximum outdoor unit capacity. Chinese households often have complex installation environments, with outdoor units enclosed in small grilles, leading to poor heat dissipation. In 2022, many brands’ central air conditioners experienced shutdowns due to high temperatures, forcing users to rely on “physical spraying” for cooling. Midea’s continuous jet boosting technology, akin to automotive turbocharging, continuously injects refrigerant into the compressor intake, overcoming external influences to ensure stable operation.

Midea engineers’ real-world tests show that the flagship can achieve 100% heating capacity at -7°C without degradation, while the national standard test temperature is set at 7°C. Additionally, cooling capacity at high temperatures (43°C) is improved to 48°C without loss, ensuring stable operation in extreme climates. The engineer proudly states that this technology originated from Midea’s strategic planning six years ago and has now become a core barrier that competitors find difficult to replicate.

Furthermore, Midea’s team discovered through big data that complaints during the heating season are surprisingly few—not because the product has no issues, but because “no one uses heating.” Further analysis revealed a long-standing pain point often overlooked: due to the lower density of hot air, traditional central air conditioners blow warm air from the ceiling, which tends to rise, causing “hot head and cold feet,” resulting in poor heating performance.

Midea ultimately restructured the product logic: retaining the side air outlet and adding a main downward outlet, enabling dual airflow modes. Users can choose between downward airflow (for heating in winter), side airflow (for cooling in summer), or dual control for rapid temperature adjustment.

Midea’s R&D team closely aligns with real user scenarios and channel feedback, avoiding closed-door development and standard pushing. Instead, it uses technological innovation to connect the experience loop based on understanding user habits and business realities. The success of these leading technologies also validates Midea’s “develop one generation, reserve one, research one” R&D mechanism.

Revolutionizing value and leading China’s air conditioning era

The “Comfort Golden Triangle” of the fourth-generation flagship has long transcended individual product success and symbolizes a paradigm shift in Chinese manufacturing: from imitation standards to defining standards; from meeting needs to anticipating needs.

As many domestic brands begin to follow the ACE low-frequency steady-state architecture, and competitors hastily launch “dual-outlet” models that cannot replicate the integrated experience, Midea declares with facts: true technological barriers are not in compressor speed but in a deep understanding of the real lives of 150 million Chinese families. The technological discourse in the central air conditioning field is shifting eastward.

This “comfort revolution” led by Midea is rewriting the value coordinates of central air conditioning—no longer valuing imported labels but focusing on whether it truly solves scenarios like “small rooms, extreme outdoor unit positions, large temperature differences between winter and summer.”

Midea believes that as outdoor installation space becomes more limited with new residential building trends, and as interior decoration demands higher aesthetic standards and fewer units, the domestic central air conditioning market will further grow. Under the trend of domestic dominance, this field is expected to follow the path of domestic replacement of split units, first domestically, then internationally.

Product success is not only about consumer trust paid with real money but also about competitors’ forced imitation.

From “manufacturing power” to “innovative powerhouse,” air conditioning is just the beginning. As global distributors proactively incorporate Midea’s solutions into high-end projects and overseas brands begin studying Chinese users’ sleep patterns and ceiling aesthetics, we are witnessing not just the rise of a company but the historic process of Chinese enterprises reclaiming technological discourse in high-end manufacturing.

The future is here—revolutionaries are leading the way.