[Jeon Byeong-seo, Director of the China Economic and Financial Research Institute] China’s largest DRAM manufacturer, Changxin Memory Technology (CXMT), made its debut on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange—often referred to as China’s version of the Nasdaq—on the 27th (local time). On its first day of trading, the stock closed at 49.0 yuan, up 465.82% from its initial public offering price of 8.66 yuan. On its first day of trading, it instantly rose to become the company with the highest market capitalization among mainland Chinese-listed firms. Based on the closing price, CXMT’s market capitalization reached 3.28 trillion yuan (approximately 711.7 trillion won), surpassing that of U.S. semiconductor giant Intel. Including the over-allotment option, the company will raise up to 57.9 billion yuan (approximately 12.5 trillion won).

The symbolism carries more weight than the numbers. Following Chinese display maker BOE and battery manufacturer CATL, it is now the turn of the memory semiconductor sector. While SamsungElectronics and SK hynix are announcing their best-ever earnings, China has quietly listed its fourth DRAM company on the stock market. This is no coincidence. The timing of this decision itself sends a message.

CXMT’s initial public offering (IPO) is a historic milestone declaring that China’s rise in the memory sector has moved beyond the laboratory and entered a full-scale mass production ecosystem through capital markets and global supply chains. CXMT’s listing is not a declaration of the industry’s success, but of the system’s success.

Paradoxically, it was U.S. export restrictions that helped nurture CXMT. The company pre-purchased large quantities of equipment before the restrictions took effect and accelerated the transition to domestically produced equipment in the cleaning and etching sectors. According to global market research firm Counterpoint Research, CXMT’s global DRAM market share rose from 3% last year to 8% in the first quarter of this year.

With China’s two major memory companies, CXMT and Yangtze Memory Technology (YMTC), successively launching large-scale fundraising efforts, observers say the self-reliance strategy for China’s semiconductor industry as a whole has entered a new phase.

General-purpose DRAM is the area that will immediately impact SamsungElectronics and SK hynix. CXMT has transitioned from DDR4 to DDR5, and while its current yield rate is reported to be around 40–50%, if it rises to 80–90% in the future, production volume from the same wafer could increase significantly. Since SamsungElectronics and SK hynix generate substantial profits not only from HBM but also from general-purpose DRAM, a full-scale low-price offensive by CXMT would inevitably lead to a deterioration in the profitability of these Korean companies.

SamsungElectronics and SK hynix have no future without a decisive lead in next-generation AI memory, such as High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). China is waging a national-level battle. In South Korea, where the battle has so far been fought solely by companies, the government must now step onto the battlefield as well. The government must cooperate to maintain support for research and development (R&D) and uphold the U.S.-led alliance on semiconductor export restrictions against China.