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Chinese semiconductor companies are investing heavily in new chip factories to boost their capacity and bypass export controls imposed by the US and its allies. (Photo: Pixabay)

China’s chip-making machinery imports rose 14% in 2023 to nearly $40 billion, the second-highest since 2015, according to official customs data, Bloomberg estimates.

This trend comes despite total imports falling 5.5% last year, showing the importance of semiconductor self-sufficiency that the government is pursuing.

Chinese semiconductor companies are ramping up investment in new chip factories to try to boost the country's capabilities and bypass export controls imposed by the United States and its allies.

Those restrictions are cutting off access to the machinery needed to produce the most powerful chips and hampering the growth of China’s high-tech sector, which is seen as a threat to the United States.

Notably, machinery imports from the Netherlands spiked last year, just before new export controls came into effect.

The new rules will further restrict access to cutting-edge machinery for Chinese companies like Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC).

Specifically, in December 2023, imports of lithography equipment from the Netherlands increased by nearly 1,000% compared to a year earlier, to $1.1 billion as companies rushed to buy. The Netherlands began a new round of export controls in January 2024.

In early January 2024, Bloomberg reported that weeks before those restrictions were set to take effect, Dutch company ASML Holding — the world’s leading maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment — canceled shipments to China at the request of the US government.

(According to Bloomberg)