The total more than doubled in three years, with AI demand emerging as a key driver of the Chinese economy and complicating the decoupling thesis.
China’s chip exports reached a record roughly $290 billion over the last 12 months, marking a sharp expansion that more than doubled the country’s chip shipments in three years. The development points to strong artificial intelligence-related demand as an increasingly important support for China’s economy, while also challenging the idea that global technology supply chains are cleanly separating from the country. The framing suggests AI demand is helping sustain export momentum even as investors and policymakers debate economic decoupling.