Commentary: AI Hardware Demand Singlehandedly Drives Asian Export Growth

Asian manufacturing hubs are leaning entirely on the artificial intelligence boom to sustain massive surges in their 2026 export data

Employees rush to complete export orders in the chip testing workshop of a semiconductor company. Photo: VCG

Since the start of 2026, major economies have posted export figures that broadly beat market expectations. But peel back the aggregate data, and a stark reality emerges: global trade is not experiencing a broad-based recovery. Instead, it is being single-handedly propelled by the artificial intelligence boom.

AI-related products have become the core engine of China’s export growth. In the first quarter of 2026, AI exports accounted for more than half of the country’s unexpected export surge. During this period, AI-related export growth rebounded to 40.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. This robust performance lifted China’s total export growth to 17.1%. If we strip out AI-related goods, that overall growth figure drops dramatically to a mere 9.8%. Consequently, AI products now make up nearly 22% of China’s total exports.

This is not an exclusively Chinese phenomenon;