China chip exports jump 136% to US$45b as AI frenzy jacks up prices

China’s integrated circuit (IC) exports surged 136 per cent year on year in September to US$45 billion, exceeding the 108 per cent growth rate in the first nine months of the year in a sign of the country’s rising influence in the global semiconductor supply chain.

In September, China exported 32.7 billion units of ICs, according to customs data released on Wednesday, a 1 per cent year-on-year increase in volume. But higher prices fuelled the 136 per cent jump in value amid a memory chip shortage stemming from the global building spree in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The first three quarters as a whole saw exports of 275.2 billion IC units worth nearly US$302 billion, according to the General Administration of Customs.