China’s Semiconductor Equipment Imports Hit Record $34.7 Billion in 2025

In a landmark development for the global tech supply chain, China’s imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment reached an all-time high of 34.7 billion dollars in 2025, marking a three percent increase from the previous year. According to the latest data from China Customs, this surge underscores the nation’s relentless drive toward building a resilient domestic chip infrastructure amid evolving global trade dynamics.

While the semiconductor sector saw steady growth, the Flat Panel Display (FPD) manufacturing equipment market experienced a dramatic rebound. Imports in this segment jumped by forty percent to 3.74 billion dollars. This resurgence, the second consecutive year of growth, is largely fueled by massive investments in Generation 8.6 Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) production lines aimed at the IT and automotive markets. However, it is worth noting that this figure remains significantly below the 2020 peak of approximately 7.1 billion dollars, indicating a shift from sheer capacity expansion to high-value technological upgrades.

Equipment specifically for crystal growth and wafer fabrication also saw a healthy nine percent rise, reaching 1.62 billion dollars. Although this did not surpass the 2023 peak of 1.76 billion dollars, it highlights a sustained focus on the fundamental building blocks of the industry, such as Silicon and advanced materials like Gallium Nitride. As China balances high-end imports from Japan and the Netherlands with a growing domestic equipment industry—where leading players like Naura Technology have now entered the global top five—the 2025 record serves as a clear indicator of China's dual-track strategy: maintaining access to global tools while accelerating the transition to self-sufficiency.