China's Reliance on Korean Memory Chips Remains Steady

Published on 2018/09/09 | Source

China remained dependent on Korea in terms of its import of memory chips.

The Korea International Trade Association said on Thursday that China imported $46.35 billion worth of memory chips from Korea last year, accounting for more than half of its total import of around US$88.62 billion.

It imported $19.73 billion and $5.76 billion worth of memory chips from Taiwan and Japan.

China's dependence on Korean memory chips is expected to continue for some time. Its imports from Korea stood at $14.67 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 75.4 percent on-year. If this trend continues, industry insiders forecast Korea's chip exports to China will exceed W60 trillion this year (US$1=W1,122).

The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said in a recent report that Korea will remain the biggest chip supplier to China, whose production capacity remains limited amid rising demand.=