China’s response key to Russia’s semiconductor supply

China’s response key to Russia’s semiconductor supply

China's response key to Russia's semiconductor supply

London, 4 March (Argus) — The impact of the latest round of sanctions on Russian semiconductor imports will depend on whether the international community can pressure China — the country's largest supplier — into also complying.

Russia imported $439.84mn worth of diodes, transistors and other semiconductor devices in 2020, along with $1.25bn of electronic integrated circuits (IC), customs data from the United Nations Comtrade database show. That was a fraction of the $440.4bn in global semiconductor sales in 2020, which rose to $555.9bn in 2021, according to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organisation.

Around a quarter of Russia's semiconductor imports are subject to the sanctions, equivalent to $470mn, the ministry of economic development said over the weekend of February 26-27, adding that the country would look to Asia-Pacific countries to fill the supply shortfall.

China supplies the majority of Russian imports of semiconductors and consumer electronics devices. Russia imported $248.57mn of the $439.84mn in components from China in 2020, as well as $246.34mn of the $1.25bn in ICs. The US was its second-largest supplier, accounting for a combined $64.6mn, the data show. Other suppliers include Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.

In announcing new sanctions on