Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro phone, released in August despite being under U.S. sanctions, is not as technologically advanced as American chips, according to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The chip in the phone is significantly inferior to U.S. chips and emphasizes that the United States has the most advanced semiconductor technology globally, while China lags behind. Raimondo’s comments come after her visit to China and refuted claims of defiance by Huawei’s release of the phone.
The U.S. government has been working to limit Beijing’s access to advanced semiconductor chips and related manufacturing tools due to concerns about their potential military applications in China. In 2019, Huawei was added to the entity list, which aimed to prevent the company from obtaining sensitive technologies. Despite this restriction, Huawei’s suppliers have continued supplying billions of dollars worth of goods, including Intel chips used in the Mate 60 Pro laptop.
Huawei’s first AI-enabled laptop powered by an Intel chip has sparked criticism from U.S lawmakers who see it as a threat to American semiconductor dominance. In response to questions about her approach to large corporations, Raimondo emphasized her commitment to holding businesses accountable and enforcing export controls when restricting sales of semiconductors to China in accordance with U.S policy. The Biden administration has initiated a review of the technology behind the chip in the Huawei phone, which represents China’s most advanced semiconductor achievement; however, details of the review process have not been widely disclosed.
In conclusion, despite being on a trade restriction list since 2019, Huawei continues to push technological boundaries with its latest releases such as its Mate 60 Pro phone featuring an AI-enabled laptop powered by an Intel chip. However, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo emphasizes that these advancements do not negate concerns about their potential military applications and reaffirms U.S efforts to limit access
