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China’s factories are sending record volumes of semiconductors, computing equipment and automobiles into global markets, turning the worldwide race to build artificial intelligence infrastructure into a powerful new engine for the country’s export economy.
Chinese exports rose 36.3% in September from a year earlier, the fastest increase since February, according to customs figures reported by Reuters. Imports increased 31%, but the trade surplus still widened to $133.53 billion for the month.
China’s cumulative surplus reached $938.11 billion during the first nine months of 2026, putting the country on course to exceed the annual record of nearly $1.2 trillion set last year. The scale of the increase is likely to intensify concerns in the United States, Europe and emerging markets over their growing dependence on Chinese technology and manufactured goods.
The figures also reveal a significant change in China’s economic relationship with the technology sector. For years, Beijing’s semiconductor policies focused primarily on reducing dependence on imported components. Chinese factories are now increasingly supplying chips and associated equipment to overseas customers, even though the country continues to rely on foreign technology for some of the most advanced processors and manufacturing tools.
Artificial intelligence becomes an export engine
Technology products accounted for much of September’s acceleration. The value of China’s semiconductor exports more than doubled during the first nine months of the year, while automobile exports increased by more than 50% in both value and volume.
AI-related products, including semiconductors and data-processing equipment, contributed an estimated 13 percentage points to September’s export growth, according to an analysis by the Financial Times.
That demand reflects the enormous construction of data centres around the world. AI systems require not only advanced processors but also memory chips, servers, networking equipment, power components and cooling systems. China may remain behind the United States and Taiwan in producing the most sophisticated AI accelerators, but its vast electronics supply chain gives it an important role across the wider infrastructure market.
The export figures do not necessarily mean that shipments of Chinese chips doubled. Rising semiconductor prices may account for part of the increase in value. More detailed customs figures will be needed to determine how much of the growth came from higher volumes, more expensive products or a change in the mix of goods being sold.
China’s customs statistics portal provides figures covering major imports and exports, although product-level data can lag the initial headline release.
Factories compensate for weak domestic demand
The export surge is helping China’s economy withstand persistent weakness at home. A prolonged property downturn has weighed on household confidence, while cautious consumers and businesses have limited domestic spending and investment.
Factories producing electronics, vehicles and renewable-energy equipment have consequently become increasingly dependent on foreign markets. That model supports industrial employment and economic growth, but it also adds to the imbalance between China’s manufacturing capacity and household consumption.
The September figures showed exports to several major markets rising sharply. China recorded a $34.01 billion surplus with the United States and a $34.8 billion surplus with the European Union during the month, Reuters reported.
The Associated Press reported that China’s expanding surplus was attracting renewed scrutiny from trading partners already concerned about subsidised production and industrial overcapacity.
Electric vehicles, batteries and solar panels have previously been at the centre of those disputes. The latest figures suggest that semiconductors, servers and other AI-related equipment may increasingly join them.
Success brings a greater risk of trade conflict
China’s technological export success creates a difficult choice for its trading partners. Governments want access to affordable equipment needed for AI systems, digital infrastructure and the energy transition. At the same time, they fear that reliance on Chinese supply chains could weaken their own industries or create security vulnerabilities.
Washington has restricted China’s access to advanced chips and semiconductor-manufacturing equipment, arguing that the technology could strengthen Chinese military capabilities. Beijing has responded by investing heavily in domestic alternatives and encouraging companies to replace foreign hardware.
The September data suggest those policies are producing exportable capacity across parts of the technology supply chain. But they do not demonstrate that China has achieved complete technological self-sufficiency. Chinese companies still face bottlenecks in advanced lithography, high-end AI processors and specialist software.
The strength of the export boom also remains uncertain. Some companies may have accelerated shipments in anticipation of new tariffs, quotas or other restrictions. Demand could also weaken if investment in overseas AI infrastructure slows.
For now, however, China’s technology factories are serving two strategic purposes: reducing the country’s dependence on foreign suppliers and generating overseas sales powerful enough to support an otherwise uneven economy. That combination is strengthening China’s industrial position — and increasing the likelihood that technology exports will become the next major fault line in global trade.
