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Chinese semiconductor material manufacturers are accelerating investments in advanced products as Beijing pushes for greater self-sufficiency, challenging the long-standing dominance of Japanese suppliers in a global market valued at US$73.2 billion.

China's push to build a domestic semiconductor equipment industry is beginning to cut into revenue at major Japanese toolmakers, with five major Japanese suppliers posting a combined 12% drop in China sales for the fiscal year ended March 2026, Nikkeireported.

Demand in the passive component market has rebounded alongside the rapid buildout of AI data centers. While Japanese suppliers continue to lead in technology, their capacity expansion has struggled to keep pace with AI-related demand, driving order spillover to Taiwan-based manufacturers.

The semiconductor supply chain is facing another raw material shock — this time from tungsten hexafluoride, or WF6, a specialty gas used in chip manufacturing. Planned production adjustments or exits by some Japanese suppliers in the second half of 2026 have intensified concerns over tighter global supply, sending prices sharply higher and raising the risk of disruption into 2027.