On October 14, General Administration of Customs data showed China's September integrated circuit exports reached $44.951 billion**, up **136% year-over-year**. Auto exports were **$20.75 billion, up 62%; phone exports were $16.982 billion**, up **14.2%**; rare earth exports were **$68.094 million, up 14.3%.
For the first three quarters, IC export growth reached 99.1%, among the fastest major export categories. Equipment manufacturing contributed nearly 90% of export growth, with intermediate goods exceeding half of total export value. Green product exports also stayed strong: EVs, lithium batteries, and wind turbine generators and parts grew 72.3%, 36.4%, and 22.4% respectively.
Import data reveals another thread. Customs Deputy Director Wang Jun said at a State Council Information Office briefing that first-three-quarter imports of storage components rose 1.5x, integrated circuits rose 56.6%, and aircraft parts rose 17.6%. Storage component import growth far outpacing overall IC imports echoes global DRAM and NAND price increases. AI compute buildout pulling high-bandwidth memory and server storage is transmitting through import data into the domestic supply chain.
Simultaneous high growth in IC exports and imports reflects China's changing role in the global semiconductor supply chain. Export growth partly comes from international demand for memory chips and mature-node products, while surging storage component imports point to domestic AI infrastructure buildout and high-end chip demand. Together they paint a more complex picture: China is both a major supplier of semiconductor products and buyer of high-end chips and storage components, with intermediate goods trade gaining weight.
ICgoodFind Summary: IC exports up 136% and storage component imports up 1.5x point to the same thing: China's intermediate goods role in the global semiconductor supply chain is deepening. Simultaneous export and import growth shows the industry cycle is expanding in scale, not simply a substitution story.
