China’s leading DRAM maker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), has begun mass production of its fifth-generation memory-chip technology platform, marking a major step in the country’s effort to strengthen its position in the global semiconductor industry.
The company announced the milestone on Sept. 20 at the 2026 World Manufacturing Convention in Hefei, saying its new G5 platform is designed to produce denser memory chips while reducing manufacturing costs and power consumption.
CXMT said the platform has reduced the spacing of key structures in its memory array to 11.95 nanometres. It uses a quadruple-patterning process to create finer patterns, allowing more memory capacity to be packed into chips and increasing the number of chips that can potentially be produced from each silicon wafer.
The company also unveiled two new 24-gigabit LPDDR5X memory products built on the platform. The chips are aimed at smartphones and other portable electronics and, according to CXMT, offer 50 per cent more capacity than equivalent products from its previous generation. Both products are already in mass production.
CXMT said the new platform can produce at least 50 per cent more gross dies per wafer than its fourth-generation technology, potentially improving manufacturing economics as well as power efficiency. The figure refers to the number of chips that can be produced before defective units are removed, rather than the final yield rate.
The development is significant because the global DRAM market remains dominated by Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron. CXMT has been investing heavily to narrow the technology gap and establish a larger domestic supply of memory chips.
China’s push has become increasingly important as restrictions imposed by the United States have limited Chinese companies’ access to some advanced semiconductor technologies and equipment. CXMT said it developed its latest platform through computer simulations and cooperation with Chinese semiconductor-equipment manufacturers.
The company is also expanding beyond its traditional DRAM business. It is preparing an R&D production line for NAND flash memory at a new Beijing facility, potentially putting CXMT into greater competition with domestic rival Yangtze Memory Technologies as demand for storage chips rises alongside artificial-intelligence infrastructure.
For the wider memory industry, the announcement comes at a time of strong demand for chips used in smartphones, computers, data centres and AI systems. CXMT’s ability to maintain high yields, competitive costs and reliable large-scale production will be crucial in determining how much the new technology changes its position against established global suppliers.
The latest move shows that China’s memory-chip ambitions are moving beyond simply increasing production capacity. CXMT is now attempting to compete closer to the leading edge of DRAM manufacturing while simultaneously building a broader domestic memory ecosystem.
