China's shipments abroad climbed 14% in April from a year earlier to a monthly record of US$359 billion, with Goldman Sachs and Nomura estimating that semiconductors, computers and other AI-related products accounted for about half of the export growth. [1, 2]
The reports said chip exports surged 100% in the month, while sales of automatic data processing equipment and parts rose 47%. They also said China's purchases of foreign high-tech products jumped 42%. [2]
Bloomberg's headline said China earns about US$500 million an hour from exports supercharged by AI, a figure that captures the scale of the boom in tech-linked trade. The reports framed the surge as part of continuing US-China economic decoupling alongside ongoing integration through the global tech supply chain. [1, 2]
The same reports said China has become the world's largest supplier of AI-related goods, while still relying on imports for some critical technologies such as advanced chips. Bloomberg and The Edge Malaysia published the report on May 12, 2026. [2]
