Huawei's Cutting-Edge Smartphone Production Capabilities Unquestioned by US Evidence
The US government lacks evidence to support claims that Huawei can mass-produce advanced smartphones with chips, according to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo As investigations continue, this recent development has become a contentious issue, prompting a shift towards offense
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According to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the US government has found no evidence suggesting that Huawei has the capability to mass-produce smartphones equipped with advanced chips. This statement comes as the investigation into how the Chinese manufacturer managed to achieve a significant breakthrough with its latest flagship device continues.
During a US House of Representatives hearing on Tuesday, Raimondo expressed her dissatisfaction with the recent launch of Huawei's Mate 60 Pro during her visit to China last month. She mentioned being "upset" by the news and stated that the only potential positive aspect was the lack of evidence indicating their ability to produce 7-nanometer chips on a large scale.
"While I cannot discuss any specific investigations, I assure you that we thoroughly investigate every instance where we discover credible evidence of any company circumventing our export controls."
Analysts, after analyzing the smartphone, have deemed it a significant accomplishment for China, indicating that Huawei may have successfully overcome American export controls.
A new flashpoint
US officials have frequently contended that the corporation represents a potential threat to the security of the United States, citing this as the rationale behind imposing trade limitations on the company. On the other hand, Huawei has adamantly refuted these allegations.TechInsights, a research organization specializing in semiconductors, conducted an analysis of the phone and revealed that it incorporates a 5G Kirin 9000s processor, developed by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), the leading chipmaker in China. This finding is unexpected as SMIC, a Chinese company partially owned by the state, has been under US export restrictions for a considerable period of time. CNN's previous requests for comment on this matter from SMIC remain unanswered.
The SK Hynix Inc. logo at the company's offices in Seongnam, South Korea, on July 24, 2017.
SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File
South Korea's Hynix is looking into how its chips got into Huawei's controversial smartphone
TechInsights discovered two chips from SK Hynix, a chipmaker based in South Korea, inside the phone.
A spokesperson from SK Hynix acknowledged the matter and stated that they are currently investigating how this was possible, as the company no longer engages in business with Huawei due to US export controls.
Huawei refrained from providing any information regarding the capacity and constituents of its mobile phone.
On Tuesday, Raimondo stated that American authorities were employing every available means to prevent the Chinese from accessing intellectual property that could potentially harm us and impede their technological progress.
Switching to offense
Huawei faced significant obstacles in 2019 when it was included on the US "entity list." This list imposes restrictions on exports to specific organizations unless a US government license is obtained. In an effort to further limit Huawei's operations, the US government went on to extend these restrictions in the subsequent year by attempting to sever ties between Huawei and chip suppliers utilizing US technology.
Abandoned by its former glory, Huawei, once the world's second-largest smartphone vendor, found itself in a dire situation. Counterpoint Research's record for the second quarter of 2023 reveals that Huawei's absence from the top five mobile phone vendors in China, let alone globally, was evident.
But its new phone is a big help for the companyand may pose a challenge to Apples (AAPL) market share in China, according to Ivan Lam, a senior analyst at Counterpoint.
A Huawei store in Beijing.
Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
Huawei is planning to host a product launch event next Monday, with the spotlight expected to be on new phones, as per Toby Zhu, a Canalys mobility analyst.
In addition to phones, there is a possibility that other devices such as tablets or earphones will also be showcased. Huawei has not disclosed any specific information about the event.
The firm is set to release another 5G phone in the upcoming months, potentially as part of its mid-range lineup, Nova, according to the Chinese news outlet IT Times. Industry sources, whose identities remain undisclosed, revealed this information on Tuesday. Huawei has chosen not to provide any comments on this matter.
Zhu disclosed that there is a high level of anticipation for the phone to incorporate 5G capability, which could be facilitated by either the "Kirin 9000s chip or an alternative chip."
If it does, the new model could become even more popular than the Mate 60 Pro, which starts at 6,999 yuan (about $959), because of its relative affordability, he added.
Customers experience the newly released Huawei Mate 60 Pro flagship phone at Huawei's flagship store in Shanghai, China, September 5, 2023.
Costfoto/NurPhoto/Getty Images
The US government is currently investigating China's revolutionary smartphone. Though Raimondo expressed her dissatisfaction with the timing of Huawei's launch, experts believe it is unlikely to have been purposely coordinated to coincide with her visit to China.
Analysts from Eurasia Group suggested that it was probably a marketing strategy designed to attract customer attention in advance of the release of the iPhone 15. Lam from Counterpoint mentioned that this action enabled the Shenzhen-based company to secure the second position in China's smartphone market during the first week of September, surpassing Apple's significant event.
Rashard Rose and Mengchen Zhang contributed to this report.
