While China continues to purchase semiconductor materials from Japan, it launched an anti-dumping investigation the day after Japan tightened export controls. IC exports to China rose sharply year on year in the first half.
China continues to purchase components from Japan, including semiconductor materials, and trade has continued even after Japan tightened export controls. According to the Ministry of Finance's trade statistics for the first half of 2026, released on 21 July, exports of integrated circuits (ICs) to China rose sharply, increasing 80.5% year on year.
On 7 January, the day after Japan tightened sanctions, China's Ministry of Commerce launched an anti-dumping investigation into semiconductor materials made in Japan. Rather than halting imports, the investigation focuses on the prices of the materials.
The article points to the existence of a certain Japanese "specialty gas" as the key to solving the mystery. Readers are watching how this gas may affect China's purchasing trends and developments in the technology sector.