Production of semiconductor chip File photo: VCG

Chinese semiconductor companies are reporting substantial new orders and expanding backlogs as global chip demand strengthens, reflecting a combination of domestic substitution, artificial intelligence (AI) investment and a recovering semiconductor cycle, according to media reports and industry analysts on Friday. 

Citing data from industry information platform chinadatapay.com, the Securities Times reported on Friday that consensus forecasts put the combined 2026 revenue of 146 A share-listed semiconductor companies at 1.24 trillion yuan, up more than 70 percent on a comparable basis. 

Semiconductor equipment supplier ACM Research (Shanghai) disclosed that its outstanding orders stood at 17.073 billion yuan as of September 29, up 88.2 percent from the amount a year earlier. Its products are used in chip manufacturing and advanced packaging.

AI demand is particularly evident in chip-design services. VeriSilicon disclosed new orders totaling 14.653 billion yuan between January 1 and July 16. Among the 6.413 billion yuan-worth of orders signed between April 30 and July 16, AI-related orders accounted for more than 90 percent.

Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Zhongguancun Modern Information Consumer Application Industry Technology Alliance, told the Global Times on Friday that AI development is generating demand across computing centers, servers, robots, smart vehicles and other areas. Chinese chips are increasingly serving these markets, supported by their ability to meet diverse requirements and their competitive pricing, he said.

The global market is also expanding rapidly. World Semiconductor Trade Statistics projected in its Spring 2026 forecast that worldwide semiconductor sales would reach $1.51 trillion this year, up 90 percent. Memory sales were forecast to rise approximately 250 percent, compared with 37 percent for logic chips.

Xiang said rising memory-chip prices have boosted revenue for chipmakers and related businesses, including some module suppliers holding inventories purchased earlier. The price effect is therefore another factor behind stronger financial performance across parts of the supply chain.

Meanwhile, the strong performance of China's chip industry is also reflected in export data. China's integrated-circuit exports reached $256.75 billion in the first eight months of 2026, up 103.9 percent year-on-year, according to customs data cited by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products. The chamber also reported a 95.8 percent increase in average export unit value.

Domestic substitution is advancing in manufacturing equipment. Shanghai Securities News reported that equipment localization in the mature-process segment of domestic wafer fabrication plants rose from approximately 35 percent in 2024 to 55 percent in 2025. 

"The growth is the result of various forces working together, rather than a single driver," Wang Peng, associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday.

Wang said domestic wafer fabs are moving from cautious trials of Chinese equipment toward bulk purchasing, creating a positive cycle of validation and improvement between suppliers and customers. Supply-chain security requirements are also supporting longer-term demand, he said.

In memory manufacturing, ChangXin Memory Technologies announced on September 20 that its fifth-generation DRAM technology platform had entered mass production. The company said the number of dies produced per wafer increased by at least 50 percent over its previous platform on an equivalent-capacity basis, and came alongside the introduction of new LPDDR5X products. 

Chinese suppliers are also winning overseas business. ACM Research announced in February advanced-packaging equipment orders from customers including a Singapore-based assembly and testing company and a North American technology company, covering electroplating and wet-processing equipment.