Related Party Transactions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Related Party Transactions
Related Party Transactions	Note 4. Related Party Transactions In August 2011, our consolidated joint venture, Beijing JiYa Semiconductor Material Co., Ltd. (“JiYa”), entered into a non-interest bearing note agreement in the amount of $1.6 million for a loan to one of its equity investment entities. The original term of the loan was for two years and ten months with three periodic principal payments required. After various amendments to the terms of the note, in December 2013 the parties agreed to delay all principal repayment until December 2017. In December 2016, we determined that this receivable was in substance an investment and began re-classifying this long-term loan from “Related party notes receivable – long-term” to “Other assets” in our consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, we included $1.2 million and $1.4 million, respectively, in “Other assets” in our consolidated balance sheets. JiYa also purchases raw materials from one of its equity investment entities for production in the ordinary course of business. The general manager of JiYa has a family member who has a 10% ownership position in this equity investment entity. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable of $2.1 million and $1.8 million, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets. JiYa also sells raw materials to one of its equity investment entities for production in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts receivable of $334,000 and $313,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts receivable” in our consolidated balance sheets. During the three months ended December 31, 2016, we deemed the collection of the outstanding amount to be improbable and established an allowance in full. There have since been no additional sales made on credit to the customer and as of December 31, 2017 the existing outstanding amount continues to be fully reserved. Beginning in 2012, our consolidated joint venture, Nanjing JinMei Gallium Co., Ltd. (“JinMei”), is contractually obligated under an agency sales agreement to sell raw material on behalf of its equity investment entity. JinMei bills the customers and remits the receipts, net of its portions of sales commission, to this equity investment entity. For the year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, JinMei has recorded $3,000 and $1,000 income from agency sales, respectively, which were included in “Other (expense) income, net” in the consolidated statements of operations. In March 2012, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology Co., Ltd. (“Tongmei”), entered into an operating lease for the land it owns with our consolidated joint venture, Beijing BoYu Semiconductor Vessel Craftwork Technology Co., Ltd. (“BoYu”). The lease agreement for the land of approximately 22,081 square feet commenced on January 1, 2012 for a term of 10 years with annual lease payments of $24,000 subject to a 5% increase at each third year anniversary. The annual lease payment is due by January 31st of each year. Tongmei has paid certain amounts on behalf of Donghai County Dongfang High Purity Electronic Materials Co., Ltd. (“Dongfang”), its equity investment entity, to purchase materials. The original agreement was signed between Tongmei and Dongfang in 2014 and the date of repayment was set as December 31, 2015. In 2015, both parties agreed to delay the date of repayment to December 31, 2017. During 2017, the repayment of the full amount of principal and interest totaling $114,000 was received by our wholly owned subsidiary. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the balance of $0 and $107,000, respectively, were included in “Related party notes receivable – long term” in our consolidated balance sheets. In April 2014, Tongmei loaned an additional of $46,000 to Dongfang. The loan bears interest at 6.15% per annum and comes due on December 31, 2017. During 2017, the repayment of the full amount of principal and interest totaling $55,000 was received by our wholly owned subsidiary. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the balance, including both principal and interest, of $0 and $50,000, respectively, were included in “Related party notes receivable – long term” in our consolidated balance sheets. Tongmei also purchases raw materials from Dongfang for production in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable of $0 and $210,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets. Tongmei also purchases raw materials from one of our equity investment entities, Emei Shan Jiamei Materials Co. Ltd. (“Jiamei”), for production in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable of $370,000 and $377,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets. Tongmei also purchases raw materials from one of our equity investment entities, Xilingol Tongli Germanium Refine Co. Ltd. (“Tongli”), for production in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable of $219,000 and $246,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets. In July 2017, Tongmei, provided an inter-company loan to JinMei in the amount of $768,000 in preparation for the acquisition of the land use rights and the construction of a new building. The inter-company loan carries an interest rate of 4.9% per annum. The principle is due in three installments between December 2021 and December 2023 while the interest is due in December of each year. JinMei is in the process of relocating its headquarters and manufacturing operations to an alternative location. Currently, JinMei has identified a site as a possible candidate and the estimated costs for the land use rights acquisition and facility construction is expected to be approximately $6 million. In April 2016, our consolidated joint venture, BoYu, provided a personal loan of $177,000 to one of its executive employees. This loan is secured by the officer’s shares in BoYu. The loan bears interest at 2.75% per annum. Principal and accrued interest are due on March 31, 2019. During the three months ended June 30, 2017, the repayment of the principal and interest totaling $180,000 was received by our consolidated joint venture. In November 2017, BoYu provided another personal loan of $307,000 to the same executive employee. The loan bears interest at 2.75% per annum. Principal and accrued interest are due on November 30, 2020. As of December, 2017 and 2016, the balances, including both principal and accrued interest, were $307,000 and $179,000, respectively, and included in “Other assets” and “Prepaid expenses and other current assets”, respectively, in our consolidated balance sheets. Tongmei also purchases raw materials from one of JiYa’s equity investment entities for production in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable of $0 and $146,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets. Beijing Kaide Quartz Co. Ltd. (“Kaide”) has been a supplier of customized quartz tubes to AXT since 2004. Beijing XiangHeMing Trade Co. Ltd., (“XiangHeMing”) is a significant shareholder of Kaide. XiangHeMing was previously owned by, among others, certain immediate family members of Davis Zhang, our former President, China Operations, until at least sometime in 2004, at which time the official Chinese government records indicate that Mr. Zhang’s immediate family members transferred their ownership of XiangHeMing to a third party. However, we are currently unable to conclusively determine whether Mr. Zhang’s immediate family members retained any economic interest in XiangHeMing after the transfer. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable to Kaide of $708,000 and $323,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets. On November 2, 2017, our consolidated joint venture, BoYu, raised additional capital in the amount of $2 million in cash from a third-party investor through the issuance of shares equivalent to 10% ownership of BoYu. This third-party investor is an immediate family member to the owner of one of BoYu's customers. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, BoYu has recorded $1.2 million and $653,000 in revenue from this customer, respectively. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts receivable of $635,000 and $156,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts receivable” in our consolidated balance sheets. Our Related Party Transactions Policy seeks to prohibit all conflicts of interest in transactions between related parties and us, unless they have been approved by our Board of Directors. This policy applies to all of our employees, directors, and our consolidated subsidiaries. Our executive officers retain board seats on the Board of Directors of the companies in which we have invested in our China joint ventures. See Note 6 for further details.

Note 4. Related Party Transactions

In August 2011, our consolidated joint venture, Beijing JiYa Semiconductor Material Co., Ltd. (“JiYa”), entered into a non-interest bearing note agreement in the amount of $1.6 million for a loan to one of its equity investment entities. The original term of the loan was for two years and ten months with three periodic principal payments required. After various amendments to the terms of the note, in December 2013 the parties agreed to delay all principal repayment until December 2017. In December 2016, we determined that this receivable was in substance an investment and began re-classifying this long-term loan from “Related party notes receivable – long-term” to “Other assets” in our consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, we included $1.2 million and $1.4 million, respectively, in “Other assets” in our consolidated balance sheets.

JiYa also purchases raw materials from one of its equity investment entities for production in the ordinary course of business. The general manager of JiYa has a family member who has a 10% ownership position in this equity investment entity. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable of $2.1 million and $1.8 million, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets.

JiYa also sells raw materials to one of its equity investment entities for production in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts receivable of $334,000 and $313,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts receivable” in our consolidated balance sheets. During the three months ended December 31, 2016, we deemed the collection of the outstanding amount to be improbable and established an allowance in full. There have since been no additional sales made on credit to the customer and as of December 31, 2017 the existing outstanding amount continues to be fully reserved.

Beginning in 2012, our consolidated joint venture, Nanjing JinMei Gallium Co., Ltd. (“JinMei”), is contractually obligated under an agency sales agreement to sell raw material on behalf of its equity investment entity. JinMei bills the customers and remits the receipts, net of its portions of sales commission, to this equity investment entity. For the year ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, JinMei has recorded $3,000 and $1,000 income from agency sales, respectively, which were included in “Other (expense) income, net” in the consolidated statements of operations.

In March 2012, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology Co., Ltd. (“Tongmei”), entered into an operating lease for the land it owns with our consolidated joint venture, Beijing BoYu Semiconductor Vessel Craftwork Technology Co., Ltd. (“BoYu”). The lease agreement for the land of approximately 22,081 square feet commenced on January 1, 2012 for a term of 10 years with annual lease payments of $24,000 subject to a 5% increase at each third year anniversary. The annual lease payment is due by January 31st of each year.

Tongmei has paid certain amounts on behalf of Donghai County Dongfang High Purity Electronic Materials Co., Ltd. (“Dongfang”), its equity investment entity, to purchase materials. The original agreement was signed between Tongmei and Dongfang in 2014 and the date of repayment was set as December 31, 2015. In 2015, both parties agreed to delay the date of repayment to December 31, 2017. During 2017, the repayment of the full amount of principal and interest totaling $114,000 was received by our wholly owned subsidiary. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the balance of $0 and $107,000, respectively, were included in “Related party notes receivable – long term” in our consolidated balance sheets.

In April 2014, Tongmei loaned an additional of $46,000 to Dongfang. The loan bears interest at 6.15% per annum and comes due on December 31, 2017. During 2017, the repayment of the full amount of principal and interest totaling $55,000 was received by our wholly owned subsidiary. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the balance, including both principal and interest, of $0 and $50,000, respectively, were included in “Related party notes receivable – long term” in our consolidated balance sheets.

Tongmei also purchases raw materials from Dongfang for production in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable of $0 and $210,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets.

Tongmei also purchases raw materials from one of our equity investment entities, Emei Shan Jiamei Materials Co. Ltd. (“Jiamei”), for production in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable of $370,000 and $377,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets.

Tongmei also purchases raw materials from one of our equity investment entities, Xilingol Tongli Germanium Refine Co. Ltd. (“Tongli”), for production in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable of $219,000 and $246,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets.

In July 2017, Tongmei, provided an inter-company loan to JinMei in the amount of $768,000 in preparation for the acquisition of the land use rights and the construction of a new building. The inter-company loan carries an interest rate of 4.9% per annum. The principle is due in three installments between December 2021 and December 2023 while the interest is due in December of each year. JinMei is in the process of relocating its headquarters and manufacturing operations to an alternative location. Currently, JinMei has identified a site as a possible candidate and the estimated costs for the land use rights acquisition and facility construction is expected to be approximately $6 million.

In April 2016, our consolidated joint venture, BoYu, provided a personal loan of $177,000 to one of its executive employees. This loan is secured by the officer’s shares in BoYu. The loan bears interest at 2.75% per annum. Principal and accrued interest are due on March 31, 2019. During the three months ended June 30, 2017, the repayment of the principal and interest totaling $180,000 was received by our consolidated joint venture. In November 2017, BoYu provided another personal loan of $307,000 to the same executive employee. The loan bears interest at 2.75% per annum. Principal and accrued interest are due on November 30, 2020. As of December, 2017 and 2016, the balances, including both principal and accrued interest, were $307,000 and $179,000, respectively, and included in “Other assets” and “Prepaid expenses and other current assets”, respectively, in our consolidated balance sheets.

Tongmei also purchases raw materials from one of JiYa’s equity investment entities for production in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable of $0 and $146,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets.

Beijing Kaide Quartz Co. Ltd. (“Kaide”) has been a supplier of customized quartz tubes to AXT since 2004. Beijing XiangHeMing Trade Co. Ltd., (“XiangHeMing”) is a significant shareholder of Kaide. XiangHeMing was previously owned by, among others, certain immediate family members of Davis Zhang, our former President, China Operations, until at least sometime in 2004, at which time the official Chinese government records indicate that Mr. Zhang’s immediate family members transferred their ownership of XiangHeMing to a third party. However, we are currently unable to conclusively determine whether Mr. Zhang’s immediate family members retained any economic interest in XiangHeMing after the transfer. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts payable to Kaide of $708,000 and $323,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts payable” in our consolidated balance sheets.

On November 2, 2017, our consolidated joint venture, BoYu, raised additional capital in the amount of $2 million in cash from a third-party investor through the issuance of shares equivalent to 10% ownership of BoYu. This third-party investor is an immediate family member to the owner of one of BoYu's customers. For the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, BoYu has recorded $1.2 million and $653,000 in revenue from this customer, respectively. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, amounts receivable of $635,000 and $156,000, respectively, were included in “Accounts receivable” in our consolidated balance sheets.

Our Related Party Transactions Policy seeks to prohibit all conflicts of interest in transactions between related parties and us, unless they have been approved by our Board of Directors. This policy applies to all of our employees, directors, and our consolidated subsidiaries. Our executive officers retain board seats on the Board of Directors of the companies in which we have invested in our China joint ventures. See Note 6 for further details.