AI infrastructure shortage drives up chip prices: China's semiconductor exports surged 111% in May, with shipments increasing only 2%

According to Beating observation monitoring, the global AI data center infrastructure has an extreme hunger for hardware, which has fully pushed the semiconductor dividend into a dramatic surge in prices. In May 2026, China’s semiconductor export value surged 111% year-on-year to a record $36 billion; however, in the same period, China’s actual chip shipments increased by only 2% year-on-year.

With semiconductor export value doubling while actual shipment volume remained almost flat, the true extent of a global computing hardware shortage is exposed. Prices of high-value chips have soared significantly due to AI computing power shortages, directly driving up semiconductor export value. In the same period, exports of computers and parts also rose 66% year-on-year, reaching about $27 billion and setting the second-highest record in history.

In May, chips and computer components together contributed about half of the total year-on-year growth in China’s imports and exports. Driven strongly by the explosive rise in computing power export value, China’s overall exports grew 19% year-on-year in May, imports surged 27% year-on-year, and the trade surplus reached $105.4 billion, the highest level since January 2026.