Why China’s optical communications sector is the latest AI boom beneficiary

SCMP Tech / 4/24/2026

💬 OpinionSignals & Early TrendsIndustry & Market Moves

Key Points

  • The article argues that China’s optical communications sector is emerging as a key “beneficiary” of the AI boom, despite global attention largely focusing on GPUs and memory chips.
  • Optical modules are positioned as critical enabling hardware for ultra-fast data-center communications, linking directly to the infrastructure demands created by AI workloads.
  • It highlights strong stock performance among Chinese optical module makers, including Shenzhen-listed Zhongji Innolight, whose shares reportedly surged about tenfold over the past year.
  • The piece frames optical-module companies as industrial “upstarts” creating a new investment class tied to expanding data-center networking needs rather than core AI model developers.
Amid the artificial intelligence boom, the world has been laser-focused on technologies like graphics processing units and memory chips. However, a quieter miracle has been unfolding in the mainland stock market. Optical modules, which allow ultra-fast communications in data centres, have minted a new class of industrial upstarts. In the past year, shares in Shenzhen-listed Zhongji Innolight, the world’s largest optical module producer, jumped tenfold. Smaller peers Eoptolink Technology and...

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