Chinese chip equipment makers post record revenues amid import restrictions

Chinese semiconductor equipment manufacturers reported record revenues in 2025 as domestic fabs ramped up production capacity while reducing direct imports of U.S.-made tools, according to a Nikkei Asia analysis. Naura, AMEC, ACM Research, and Piotech each posted their highest-ever sales last year, capping a five-year expansion driven by Beijing's push to reduce dependence on imported wafer fabrication equipment. Naura reported 27.14 billion yuan in revenue over just the first three quarters of 2025, compared to 6.05 billion yuan for all of 2020. Imports of U.S.-origin semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China fell to $2 billion in 2025, down more than 34 percent year-over-year and the lowest annual figure since 2017. Instead, Chinese fabs imported record volumes of U.S.-branded tools through Singapore and Malaysia, with shipments traced to Singapore rising 17 percent to $5.7 billion and Malaysia-origin imports more than doubling to $3.4 billion. Despite strong revenue growth, Chinese equipment vendors face intensifying price competition that is squeezing profit margins, according to Charles Shi, a semiconductor analyst with Needham & Co. "While leading domestic equipment companies are still posting strong revenue growth, there are indications that their margin performance is deteriorating," Shi told Nikkei Asia, attributing the squeeze to local vendors undercutting each other to win share in fabs formerly supplied by U.S., Japanese, and Dutch equipment makers. The growth in Chinese equipment sales aligns with multi-year capacity expansions at top domestic logic and memory producers including YMTC, CXMT, and SMIC. U.S. equipment vendors Applied Materials, Lam, and KLA together booked nearly $19 billion in China sales across their fiscal year 2025 reporting periods, with China representing more than 30 percent of total revenue for each company. Washington lawmakers introduced the MATCH Act earlier this month, the latest legislative effort aimed at closing off Southeast Asian routing channels to China. The bill targets both finished tools and critical components, specifically naming Chinese semiconductor firms CXMT, YMTC, SMIC, and Hua Hong.