TL;DRHong Kong handled more than half of China’s $239bn chip imports in the first five months of 2026, a record share, as AI demand reshapes Asian trade. The city’s free-port status and air cargo network have made it the region’s crucial semiconductor middleman, though the role leaves it exposed to US-China tensions.
Hong Kong has become the main artery for high-tech goods flowing in and out of China, and its chip trade has hit record levels. The city accounted for more than half of China’s $239bn in semiconductor imports in the first five months of 2026, according to a Bloomberg review of official data.
That share stood at just a third a decade ago. Between January and May, Hong Kong re-exported $124bn worth of chips to the mainland, some 52% of China’s total purchases.
Official figures published in late June showed the city’s trade with China grew nearly 50% in May from a year earlier. Bloomberg reports that is the fastest rate since 1992, outside the pandemic years.
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