China’s AI chip demand pushes Korea into rare surplus with top trade partner

HONG KONG — Korea has emerged as a rare bright spot among East Asian economies trading with China, as booming demand for memory chips pushes its balance with its largest trading partner back into a surplus. The country's trade position with China had strengthened steadily this year, swinging from a $764 million deficit in December 2025 to a $1.1 billion surplus in February, before widening further to $3.8 billion in May, according to data from Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. The turnaround has been driven largely by semiconductor shipments to China, as the global AI boom fuels demand for memory chips. The surge had tightened supply and sent prices sharply higher, with 16 gigabyte DDR5 memory chips up 682 percent and NAND flash memory prices up 807 percent, according to Morgan Stanley. In May, Korea's semiconductor exports to China jumped 243 percent from a year earlier, the ministry's data showed. Korea’s improving position stands in sharp contrast to that of other East Asian economies, where rising Chinese competitiveness and shifting technology supply chains have