China's Semiconductor Equipment Imports Increase 9% Year-Over-Year in July

China's semiconductor equipment imports rose by 9% year-over-year in July, according to a report from Barclays. This increase marks a significant recovery from a challenging first quarter, where imports fell by 16%. The growth in July also represents an acceleration from June's more modest 4% increase.

The rebound in imports was driven primarily by logic-chip equipment and back-end assembly tools, with Shanghai emerging as a central hub for this growth. Notably, back-end assembly equipment saw a remarkable 35% increase in July, following a 43% rise in June. Other categories also showed improvement, including lithography equipment, which rose by 7%, and chemical vapor deposition equipment, which surged by 15%.

Despite the overall positive trend, memory chip spending remains low, with expectations for a potential increase in memory-related capital expenditure projected for the second half of 2026. Barclays anticipates that wafer fabrication equipment imports will grow by 10% for the full year 2026, with an even more optimistic forecast of 15% growth for 2027.

© 2026 KLEA News. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Source: KLEA News