China bought a record amount of foreign chipmaking equipment in 2024.
Of the $30.9B imported from major sources, nearly $20B came from Japan and the Netherlands, with smaller sources like Malaysia and Singapore also rising sharply.
The $9.63B worth of equipment imported from Japan was a 28.23% YoY increase, marking the 5th record-breaking year in a row since US-China tensions began rising in 2019. Japan has been China's leading foreign supplier since then, with annual procurement tripling between 2018 and 2024.
Imports from the Netherlands surged 31.6% to $9.53B last year.
China's imports of chip tools from the US grew just 11.5% last year to $3.18B. That fell short of its record US imports of $3.69B in 2021.
Singapore has surpassed the US to become the third-largest source of China's semiconductor equipment imports, reaching $4.86B last year — a 345% surge compared to 2018.
Imports from Malaysia also rose as many US chip equipment makers such as Applied Materials and Lam Research expanded production footprints in Southeast Asian markets, helping them become critical chip tool exporters.
Imports from South Korea increased more than 310% from 2018 to $1.61B in 2024. 
chip tool makers were previously considered relatively second-tier players, but they are gaining traction in memory chips and chip packaging.
China's domestic chip equipment sector has grown alongside its imports, with the top 5 domestic players all reporting record-high revenue last year. Four of them also delivered their highest-ever net profits last year. 
Naura Technology saw its net profit surge more than 44% and its revenue climb 35%. It broke into the global top six of equipment makers by revenue in 2024, a space that has always been dominated by US, European and Japanese players.
China launched a "de-Americanization" campaign to encourage local chipmakers to replace US chip tools if at all possible to reduce geopolitical risks.
Chip equipment from Japan and South Korea is in particular demand as Chinese chipmakers expand in both chip manufacturing and chip packaging to meet surging local demand.
"Lithography and cleaning machines from Japan and hybrid bonding tools from South Korea are in high demand.”
Hybrid bonding tools from Hanmi Semiconductor are used by SK Hynix to develop high-bandwidth memory chips, essential components for AI chips. "Every tool that SK Hynix uses for HBMs, Chinese companies want them, too."
South Korea's exports of semiconductor manufacturing tools to China jumped 42.4% to $1.4B in 2024 from the previous year.
"About half of the exports go to Chinese makers, including CXMT, while the other half is for Samsung's Xian and SK Hynix's Wuxi factories.”
"Chinese chipmakers increased their investment in tools with government support."
"We've also noticed increasing talent outflows from Japanese and South Korean suppliers to China, including retired senior engineers. In the longer term, three to five years, Chinese homegrown tool suppliers' technological breakthroughs will meaningfully affect foreign suppliers' market share and cause greater pressure."
China's share of the mature chip market is projected to rise from 28% in 2025 to 39% by 2027. SMIC will maintain near-record capital spending in 2025 to expand its market share and meet rising domestic demand for chip production.
"China's domestic semiconductor equipment sector is gaining market share as local companies begin to replace some US rivals. It's increasingly clear that US chip equipment makers in areas like etching, deposition, and cleaning are losing ground to Chinese homegrown competitors amid rising geopolitical tensions and export controls. Equipment makers from Japan, the Netherlands, and South Korea have all benefited from China's surge in spending, with the Netherlands, in particular, seeing a notable uptick in stockpiling due to tightening export controls."
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