Chinese media outlet Kuai Technology published an article on the 24th titled 'Domestic Production Rate of Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Doubled in 4 Years, Japan's Sales to China Saw First-Ever Year-on-Year Decline.'

The article first stated regarding China that 'the localization of semiconductor manufacturing equipment is accelerating, and market share is being taken from Japanese, European, and American companies.'

It then cited a report by the Nikkei Shimbun and highlighted that the total sales to China for the five Japanese companies, Tokyo Electron, Advantest, SCREEN Holdings, DISCO, and KOKUSAI ELECTRIC, for the fiscal year ending March 2026, amounted to 1.47 trillion yen, a 12% decrease compared to the same period last year (totaling approximately 1.66 trillion yen), marking their first-ever negative growth.

According to the Nikkei Shimbun, among them, Tokyo Electron's sales ratio in China fell by 7 percentage points year-on-year to 27% in the January-March 2026 quarter. This was a sharp decline from 50% in the April-June 2024 quarter.

The article also stated that 'major European and American companies are facing similar pressure,' and mentioned that the sales ratio in China for Dutch semiconductor equipment giant ASML fell by 8 percentage points year-on-year to 19% in the January-March 2026 quarter, adding that U.S. equipment manufacturers such as Applied Materials and KLA are also struggling.

Furthermore, the article stated that according to SEMI, an international semiconductor industry organization, China's equipment market in 2025 was flat at 49.3 billion dollars (approximately 7.9 trillion yen) compared to 2024 (49.6 billion dollars), and pointed out, 'The overall market size is not shrinking. The decline in sales for Japanese, American, and European manufacturers is due to the rise of Chinese competitors.' According to market research firm MIR, the domestic production rate for front-end semiconductor manufacturing equipment in China doubled from 10% in 2021 to 21% in 2025, and the domestic production rate for back-end equipment, such as assembly, also nearly doubled from 19% to 36%.

The article stated, 'Meanwhile, sales of back-end equipment from Japanese manufacturers to China continue to show an increasing trend,' and reported that Advantest saw an increase of approximately 20% compared to the previous fiscal year in the fiscal year ending March 2026, and DISCO also increased by slightly less than 10%. (Translation/Editing by Yanagawa)