Chinese Tech Companies Ride the Global AI Boom: Chip Exports Jump 96% to $177 Billion

Chinese technology companies sharply expanded their international reach in the first half of 2026. Exports of integrated circuits nearly doubled to $177.3 billion, up 96% year over year, according to Chinese customs statistics.

Chip exports nearly doubled

China's exports of integrated circuits rose 96% year over year to $177.3 billion in the first half of 2026, according to Chinese customs data. That makes them the main driver of the country's physical technology exports. Integrated circuits are a basic building block of servers, smartphones and AI accelerators, and they saw the steepest jump of any technology category.

The push came from a global surge in AI spending. Demand for chips, servers and data center equipment has accelerated shipments worldwide. Companies that run training and inference for large models are buying hardware at volumes the market has not seen before, and Chinese manufacturers are filling part of that demand.

• Integrated circuit exports: $177.3 billion in the first half of 2026
• Growth: 96% year over year, nearly double
• Source of the figures: Chinese customs statistics
• Two channels of expansion: physical supply chains, and cloud software with foundation models

Exports of integrated circuits nearly doubled in value, gaining 96% year over year, according to

Chinese customs data for the first half of 2026, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Why companies are looking for demand abroad

Chinese tech companies are building up their presence abroad because global AI spending is growing while competition at home is intensifying. The domestic market is overheated: dozens of players fight over the same customers, which squeezes margins and forces companies to look for revenue in foreign markets.

The domestic race affects both chipmakers and model developers. When dozens of comparable products compete in one market at the same time, prices fall and it takes longer to recoup development costs. Going abroad is a way to monetize technology that already exists in markets where demand for AI still outpaces supply.

The expansion runs through two channels. The first is the familiar physical supply chain: chips, servers and networking equipment. The second, which is gaining weight, is cloud software and foundation models, sold as a service rather than as hardware. In the first half of 2026, this software layer became a noticeable part of the export strategy.

Software and models instead of hardware

Beyond chips, Chinese companies are increasingly shipping cloud software and their own foundation models abroad. This marks a shift from exporting equipment to exporting the software layer and AI services, which can be delivered to customers around the world without physical logistics or customs barriers.

The shift matters because cloud services and models generate recurring revenue and tie foreign customers to the Chinese technology ecosystem, unlike one-off chip shipments. By selling access to models and cloud platforms, companies build long-term customer relationships rather than closing a single hardware deal. It is also more convenient for the customer abroad: a cloud model can be connected immediately, with no need to import hardware or set up their own infrastructure.

What this means

Chinese technology exports are no longer just hardware. A growing layer of cloud software and AI models is being added to the record $177.3 billion in chip shipments in the first half of 2026. For the global market, this means competition for AI infrastructure and platforms is becoming truly global, and Chinese players are now competing for it with more than chips.