Samsung’s export earnings from China have overtaken those from the US in the first half of 2023, driven by growing demand in China and ongoing geopolitical restrictions shaping its global supply chain, with the semiconductor division remaining central to its revenues.
Samsung Electronics’ export earnings from China overtook its US business in the first half of this year, underlining how uneven demand has become across its key markets. According to the company’s half-year report, as analysed by Business Korea and reported by 3DNews, shipments linked to China brought in about $62.8bn, while the US generated roughly $50bn. The gap is striking because Samsung remains the world’s largest memory chip maker, yet the structure of its overseas sales is being shaped as much by trade restrictions and product mix as by end-demand.
The semiconductor division continued to dominate the group’s finances. Samsung said its DS unit accounted for 68.5% of first-half revenue and 97.4% of operating profit, showing how heavily the company still depends on chips rather than consumer electronics for earnings. That strength has been supported by AI-related demand and firmer pricing, which means revenue has risen faster in value terms than in physical volume. In practical terms, higher chip prices are amplifying the effect of stronger shipments.
China’s importance to Samsung is not new, but the scale of the recent increase is notable. Samsung’s chip exports to China were $44.6bn in 2023, above its $42.1bn sales to the US, according to SamMobile and Notebookcheck. Those reports said the increase was driven in part by Chinese stimulus measures aimed at replacing older phones and appliances, and by demand for NAND flash, LPDDR memory, image sensors and display driver ICs. Samsung still cannot supply its most advanced memory chips to Chinese customers, but it continues to sell substantial volumes of mainstream products and to manufacture some memory output inside China.
The picture is therefore one of growth constrained by geopolitics rather than by technology alone. Tom’s Hardware reported that US authorities have moved to annual export licensing for Samsung and SK hynix equipment shipments to China, replacing the older waiver approach and increasing scrutiny of sensitive tools. That matters because China remains central to Samsung’s memory production chain even as Washington seeks tighter control over semiconductor flows. The result is a business that is still expanding, but on terms increasingly shaped by regulation, product restrictions and the location of manufacturing capacity.
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