By Li Panpan

(JW Insights) Jul 17 -- China's integrated circuits (IC) imports numbered 227.7 billion units and were valued at RMB1.12 trillion ($156.11 billion), down by 18.5% and 17.0%, respectively, showed data released by the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) on July 13.

The drop of total value of chip imports in the first half year of 2023 was much deeper than the decline in China's overall imports, which shrank 0.1% from a year earlier for the same period, said a South China Morning Post report on July 13.

Driven by the trend of self-sufficiency, China has seen a surge in the output of traditional chips and other mature IC technologies to replace imports. China's IC output increased 0.1% year-on-year to 140.1 billion units in the first five months of 2023, showed data released recently by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

During the first six months of 2023, China's import value of mechanical and electrical products reached RMB2.98 trillion ($415.74 billion), a decrease of 11.6%, said GACC.

Among them, the imports of automatic data processing equipment (ADPE) and its components were RMB 146.83 billion ($20.35 billion), a decrease of 22.4%.

Imports of diodes and similar semiconductor devices registered RMB215.63 billion ($30.08 billion), down 34.4%, with a value of RMB78.41 billion ($10.94 billion), down 14.2%;

Import of automobiles (including chassis) reached 346,000 units, down 22.4%, and valued at RMB150.07 billion($20.94 billion), a decrease of 17.5%;

Imports of LCD flat panel display modules numbered 678 million, down 10.3%, with a value of RMB39.59 billion ($5.52 billion), a decrease of 27.5%.