World on the Brink
China’s semiconductor silicon wafer industry has significantly grown since 2021, and China is now among the largest global exporters according to data from H1 2026. Semiconductor silicon wafers are the substrates used in most semiconductor wafer fabrication. Taiwan, Japan, Korea, the European Union, and the United States were the top export destinations in H1 2026. At the same time, Chinese government agencies are pushing for domestic chipmakers to source their silicon wafers locally, likely as part of China's overall intention to indigenize its chip sector by 2030.
For more on China’s silicon wafer industry, see our prior post.
