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Ann Cao

China’s chip exports jumped in the first two months of the year, according to the latest customs data, underscoring how Beijing’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency is boosting both domestic demand and global market growth.
Integrated circuit (IC) exports reached US$43.3 billion in January and February, an increase of 72.6 per cent from a year earlier, data from the General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday. It far outpaced China’s overall export growth of 21.8 per cent in the same period.
By volume, IC exports rose 13.7 per cent from a year earlier to 52.5 billion units.
The data comes as Beijing intensifies its “whole-nation” approach to step up chip self-reliance and mitigate the risks stemming from Western trade restrictions. The whole-nation approach is a comprehensive government strategy to address national-level challenges.
Meanwhile, the volume of chip imports rose 9 per cent to 9.1 billion units and their value jumped 39.8 per cent to US$78.2 billion in the first two months of the year, compared with increases of 6.3 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively, in the same period in 2025.
The data comes as imports of Nvidia’s H200 graphics processing units – an ideal option for Chinese big tech companies to train their AI models – remain in limbo.
US officials were considering limiting the purchases of each Chinese firm to 75,000 H200 chips, further constraining the chipmaker’s re-entry into an important market, Bloomberg reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter.
As the global artificial intelligence frenzy drives demand for chips used in a wide range of AI applications, the country’s major chipmakers have been expanding production, stepping up chip supplies both locally and overseas.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), China’s largest chip foundry, produced a total of 9.7 million wafers last year, up 21 per cent from a year earlier. Shipments from Hua Hong Semiconductor increased 18.5 per cent year on year to 5.4 million units.
China’s total semiconductor market was expected to grow 31.3 per cent to US$546.5 billion this year, according to data from research firm Omdia.
The surge in IC exports builds on a blockbuster 2025, when exports rose 17.4 per cent year on year to 349.5 billion units, while their value climbed 26.8 per cent to reach US$201.9 billion, the customs data showed.
While the customs data did not provide a breakdown of IC exports by country or region during the January-February period, Hong Kong was the largest destination for China’s chip exports in 2025, followed by Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan.
The gap between the value and volume of chip exports, however, also reflects how a global memory supply crunch is leading chipmakers to raise prices amid rising costs.
SMIC, for instance, increased prices of certain products by 10 per cent due to a surge in demand for power-management chips and AI-related hardware, according to Chinese media reports in December.
Globally, memory chip prices were expected to rise 40 per cent to 50 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, followed by a further 20 per cent jump in the second quarter, according to Counterpoint Research.
“The semiconductor industry continued its recovery in February,” analysts from Donghai Securities said in a research note last week, adding that the price hikes were expected to extend into March.
“Memory prices kept rising in February, with the price increases spreading from memory and consumer electronics to other semiconductor sectors such as power and analogue chips,” the analysts said.


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Chip exports hit US$43.3 billion in January and February, outpacing China’s overall export growth of 21.8 per cent in the same period


Chip exports hit US$43.3 billion in January and February, outpacing China’s overall export growth of 21.8 per cent in the same period.


China’s chip exports surge 73% as AI demand fuels semiconductor growth

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chip exports hit US$43.3 billion in January and February, outpacing China’s overall export growth of 21.8 per cent in the same period

Chip exports hit US$43.3 billion in January and February, outpacing China’s overall export growth of 21.8 per cent in the same period