China is rapidly emerging as a major global player in semiconductors, posting record growth even as Washington races to restrict the flow of American chip technology into the country and slow its rise as a competitor.
Chinese Chip Revenue Jumped 22% Last Year
China’s integrated circuit industry revenue rose 22% year-over-year in 2025 to a record $245 billion, according to data shared by The Kobeissi Letter, nearly doubling since 2020 as domestic chipmakers scale up production to fill the gap left by restricted access to advanced U.S. technology.
China now accounts for roughly 6% of the global semiconductor market, putting it on par with Japan and the European Union at about 7% each and Taiwan at roughly 6%.
By comparison, North America still holds a commanding 53% share, while South Korea accounts for 21%.
SMIC And CXMT Are Leading China’s Chip Push
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. and ChangXin Memory Technologies are the two Chinese chipmakers most directly tied to the country’s growing domestic production.
SMIC is the world’s third-largest chip foundry, with about 5.1% of the global market as of the first quarter of 2026, trailing Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTC:SSNLF).
CXMT ranks as the world’s fourth-largest DRAM maker, holding roughly 7.67% of the global market behind Samsung, SK hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY) and Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)
ETFs With Exposure to Chinese Chipmakers
The Roundhill Memory ETF (CBOE:DRAM), which holds CXMT, manages $27.44 billion in assets and a 0.65% expense ratio and has surged 117.54% both year-to-date and over the past year.
The Invesco China Technology ETF (NYSE:CQQQ), which holds SMIC, manages $3.19 billion in assets and has a 0.65% expense ratio, is down 4.68% year-to-date but up 4.21% over the past year.
The KraneShares China Technology & Semiconductor STAR 50 Index ETF (NYSE:KSTR), also exposed to CXMT, manages $397.71 million in assets with a 0.89% expense ratio, and has gained 33.25% year-to-date and 65.98% over the past year.
The Tema Memory ETF (NYSE:DISK), which holds CXMT, manages $85.11 million in assets with a 0.75% expense ratio, though shares have fallen 17.91% both year-to-date and over the past year.
How Washington is Trying to Push Back
President Donald Trump‘s administration has moved to restrict Nvidia Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) advanced chip sales to China, according to a report by The New York Times, a decision CNBC’s Jim Cramer called “ill-advised,” as it only accelerated Beijing’s push for AI self-sufficiency rather than slowing it.
Earlier this month, the administration urged Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) not to source memory chips from Chinese manufacturers amid an AI-driven supply shortage, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Price Action: The Roundhill Memory ETF closed 5.36% higher on Monday at $60.39 and gained 0.4% in extended trading.
Benzinga edge rankings indicate that Roundhill Memory ETF has a negative price trend across the short, medium and long term.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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