China's MIIT Pledges to Stabilize Memory Chip Supply as AI Manufacturing Demand Surges

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on April 22 pledged coordinated measures to stabilize domestic memory chip supply, citing surging demand from AI-driven manufacturing expansion and strong Q1 2026 industrial growth. MIIT officials cited record output increases at YMTC (NAND flash) and CXMT (DRAM) as evidence that domestic self-sufficiency targets are on track, while committing to additional supply chain support to prevent bottlenecks as AI infrastructure buildout accelerates. China's industrial economy posted broad-based Q1 growth led by high-tech manufacturing sectors — EV production, industrial robotics, and AI server assembly — each of which has dramatically increased domestic chip consumption. MIIT's pledge encompasses support for YMTC's planned two additional Wuhan fabs, CXMT's 17nm DRAM expansion, and broader chiplet and advanced packaging supply chain development. The timing reflects China's growing use of memory chips for AI inference clusters, where YMTC's 3D NAND and CXMT's DRAM serve domestic alternatives to Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron components restricted under US export controls. Memory prices have surged nearly 50% globally in 2026 due to AI demand, increasing the strategic importance of stable domestic supply for China's hyperscalers and AI infrastructure operators.