US Lacks Evidence That Huawei Can Produce Advanced Smartphones in Large Volumes
On Tuesday, September 19th, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo stated that the United States lacks evidence that the Chinese manufacturer Huawei can produce smartphones with advanced chips in large quantities, according to Reuters. This comes in the wake of the recent release of Huawei's flagship smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro.
Huawei unveiled its new smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro, at the beginning of September. Its main feature is the Kirin 9000s processor, produced in China by the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. This processor is the first Chinese chip manufactured using advanced 7nm technology, indicating that the Chinese government is taking steps towards creating its own ecosystem of modern chips.
"We have no evidence that they can produce 7nm chips in large volumes," said Raimondo during hearings in the US House of Representatives, referring to the advanced Chinese chip.
Earlier this month, the Department of Commerce stated that it was working on obtaining additional information about the "nature and composition" of the chip that may violate trade restrictions. Raimondo expressed her concerns about the report of Huawei's advanced smartphone during hearings in the House Committee on Science.
Some Republicans believe that the Department of Commerce should cease exporting technology to Huawei and SMIC. Republican representative Darrell Issa stated during hearings that Raimondo was in China when the announcement of Huawei's new phone was made.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan previously stated this month that the US government is trying to gather more information about Huawei's chip.
It's worth noting that Huawei's smartphone has stirred speculation as the company remains at the center of tension between Washington and Beijing, facing sanctions over allegations of assisting the Chinese military. Once the world's largest telecommunications provider, the company is making every effort to find alternatives to American schemes after the Trump administration added Huawei to its list of legal entities in 2019.
Chinese semiconductor manufacturing still lags in terms of productivity, as the main processor in the Mate 60 Pro falls two generations behind the most advanced global technologies. However, Huawei and SMIC may be approaching the limit of what they can achieve without more sophisticated chip manufacturing equipment.