Xi'an Posts Rapid Trade Expansion Driven by Semiconductor Demand

People's Daily reported that Xi'an achieved a 115.5% increase in total import and export value during the first three quarters of the year, ranking first among 15 sub-provincial cities and moving toward becoming the central and western region's first trillion-level foreign trade city in 2026. Zhang Renzhong, deputy head of the foreign trade division at the Xi'an Municipal Bureau of Commerce, attributed this rapid growth to multiple overlapping factors, including an accelerating global semiconductor recovery, surging product demand driven by artificial intelligence development, and rapid responses from leading semiconductor enterprises. The city's active trade entities expanded during the first 9 months, reaching 4615 operating foreign trade businesses, representing a net increase of 648 compared to the same period last year, alongside double-digit foreign trade value gains across several development zones. Experts noted that trade figures remain heavily concentrated in firms such as Samsung and Micron, warning that susceptibility to international market movements and chip pricing could make such high trade growth difficult to sustain in the following year.