Overseas investors are effectively investing early in Chinese AI semiconductor companies through perpetual futures on cryptocurrency exchanges, an analysis said. With direct access to mainland Chinese equities limited, investors are betting on pre-listing prices via crypto derivatives. Trading has surged ahead of ChangXin Memory Technologies\' planned STAR Market listing. The products allow round-the-clock trading without owning shares and are seen as a way to bypass China’s foreign investment restrictions and perform price discovery before IPO pricing.

Electronica Shanghai 2026 drew 2,065 exhibitors, up 15.1 percent from a year earlier, and expanded floor space to 120,000 square metres. Chinese companies showcased new products across connectors, power semiconductors and sensors, areas long seen as dominated by global firms. The event highlighted moves toward system-level applications, from AI servers to EVs. Passive components in mainland China largely remain third-tier globally, leaving gaps in high-end technology.