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Semiconductors
TechTech War

China’s semiconductor imports continue to contract amid economic headwinds, rising tensions between Beijing and Washington

  • Chip imports reached 369.5 billion units from January to August, down 12.8 per cent from 423.9 billion shipped in the same period last year
  • The value of semiconductor imports rose 2.6 per cent to US$277 billion, up from US$270 billion a year ago, as the country bought more expensive chips

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Semiconductor imports to China started to shrink in the first two months of 2022, which marked the first year-on-year drop since the beginning of 2020. Photo: Shutterstock
Xinmei Shen
China’s import volume of integrated circuits (ICs) declined more than 12 per cent in the first eight months of the year, according to official customs data released on Wednesday, as the world’s biggest market for semiconductors faces pressure from economic headwinds and an escalating tech war with the US.

The country imported 369.5 billion IC units from January to August, down 12.8 per cent from the 423.9 billion units shipped in the same period last year, the latest data from the General Administration of Customs shows. That marked a sharp retreat from the 27.2 per cent increase recorded in the same period in 2021.

The value of China’s chip imports from January to August this year rose 2.6 per cent to US$277 billion, up from US$270 billion in the same period last year, signifying that the country is buying more expensive IC products.

China’s factory activity in August contracted amid weakening demand, while power shortages and fresh Covid-19 flare-ups disrupted production, according to the Caixin/Markit manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey, which slid to a lower-than-expected 49.5 in August.

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That reading echoed China’s official PMI data released last week by the National Bureau of Statistics, which recorded a contraction for a second consecutive month in August to 49.4, from 49 in July. The 50-point mark separates PMI growth from contraction on a monthly basis.
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