The US has banned export of advanced chips to China in a bid to prevent the country from using them to develop technologies “because they could be used for military uses and modernisation.” But if the latest report is to be believed, two Chinese companies, including popular smartphone maker Huawei, used the US technology to produce an advanced chip in China in 2023.
Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reported that both Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp used US technology to produce an advanced chip even as previous unreported information suggests that China is still unable to entirely replace certain foreign components and equipment required for semiconductors.
Reportedly, Shanghai-based SMIC used technology from California’s Applied Materials and Lam Research Corp to develop an advanced 7-nanometer chip for Huawei last year. This chip is said to be used in the Huawei Mate 60 Pro smartphone.
How SMIC used US technology to build chip
Citing a person aware of the matter, the report mentions that SMIC obtained the American machinery before the US banned such sales to China in October 2022.
“The country has made technological self-sufficiency a national priority and Huawei’s efforts to advance domestic chip design and manufacturing have received the backing of Beijing,” the report noted.
After Huawei released the new phone, the US launched a probe into its processor and vowed the “strongest possible” actions to ensure national security. Republican lawmakers also called for the Biden administration to completely cut off Huawei and SMIC’s access to US technology.
Last month, a report by news agency Reuters said that the US cut off SMIC’s most advanced factory from more American imports.
Huawei was added to a trade restrictions list in 2019 by the Trump administration over alleged sanctions violations. SMIC was added to the same list in 2020 for alleged ties to the Chinese military.
