On September 18, Reuters reported, citing three people with knowledge of the matter, that CXMT plans to set up a research-and-development production line for NAND flash at its new plant in Beijing, and has established a research institute there whose projects include NAND. One source said CXMT has discussed its plans with customers, including a newly established startup that wants NAND for AI and supercomputer storage. CXMT did not respond to Reuters. It was not clear when the line would start, or whether CXMT intends to go beyond trial production. No node, capacity or budget was disclosed.

CXMT is a DRAM company. TrendForce ranked it fourth in DRAM with a 9.5% share in 2Q26; in NAND, Samsung led with a 29.3% share. CXMT has capital to deploy after its 57.92 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) July IPO, and Reuters reported in August that it plans a second DRAM fab in Beijing.

The NAND market is short and expected to stay short: TrendForce estimates a 4–5% supply deficit in 2026, easing only in the second half of 2027, and expects Chinese suppliers to reach nearly 19% of global NAND bit output in 2027. A CXMT line that reached volume would add a second state-backed Chinese NAND supplier beside YMTC, which itself sent LPDDR samples to customers in April.

An R&D line is not capacity. It changes nothing in 2026–27 NAND supply or pricing. A new entrant must develop a 3D NAND process, reach yield and qualify with customers, each step measured in quarters and constrained by export controls on tools. The open questions are whether CXMT intends volume production at all, and how it splits capital between a second DRAM fab and NAND while DRAM and HBM carry the better returns.