China Tech Giants Pivot to Domestic Memory Chips to Counter US Export Controls

Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance are increasing domestic procurement of DRAM and NAND flash memory. These companies are negotiating larger orders from Chinese suppliers to power their data center operations.

The strategic shift aims to reduce dependence on international vendors and advance China’s technological self-sufficiency. Ongoing trade tensions and U.S. export controls are accelerating this transition.

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) and Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) are the primary beneficiaries of this demand. This move poses a long-term threat to the market share of established global memory leaders.