Huawei survived the US veto even though it left it out of the international market. After a few years, he lives a second youth by doubling his benefits, and his native country protects him with subsidies to avoid further sanctions. This context is located in the current technological-trade war between China and the United Stateswith the chip industry at the center.
If Huawei angered the North American country due to the banned components of the Huawei Mate 60 Promainly its processor, it seems that history repeats itself: as we read in Reuters, the new laptop from the Chinese manufacturer has upset US lawmakers.
New controversy with Huawei. Although there is an interloper in this story: Intel
Huawei has a difficult time using cutting-edge chips: it will try to reach 5 nanometers using old machines. By the way, it intends to get on the 5G boat, and to do so it has made multimillion-dollar investments. Last summer we learned that, thanks to SMIC (main Chinese semiconductor manufacturer), it has chips with 5G. Not only in mobile phones, but their 5G teams want to return to Europe with a factory that will open in France.
Be that as it may, on the software side it is forming the third mobile ecosystem, but Huawei is also known for its hardware solutions in the field of laptops. And it is this area where controversy has arisen again. Reuters echoes the criticism that Joe Biden’s Government has received for allowing Huawei to present a laptop powered by an Intel AI chip.
So far, Huawei is included in the US list of trade restrictions, which prevents it from having relations with North American companies. There are exceptions, although to do so, you must look for a special and complicated license to obtain. One of these licenses has been an open window for Intel to send processors to Huawei since 2020.
Now, “China hardliners” – those who advocate tightening restrictions on the Asian country – had urged the Biden administration to revoke that license. This was reluctantly accepted thinking that it expires at the end of the year, but it has caused a certain stir.
The Huawei MateBook X Pro laptop boasts a new Intel processor, the Core Ultra 9, fueling controversy because this means that the Department of Commerce has approved shipments of the chip to Huawei. “One of the biggest mysteries in Washington, DC, is why the Commerce Department continues to allow American technology to be sent to Huawei,” said Republican Congressman Michael Gallagher, the House’s China handler.
According to industry sources, it is said that the chips were sent under a pre-existing license, being left out of subsequent restrictions on shipments of AI chips to China. The US has been limiting China’s ability to train Artificial Intelligence for some time; With this chip, just the opposite has happened.
Both the Department of Commerce and Intel They declined to comment on this issue. and Huawei has not commented either. This reaction would be a sign of the growing pressure the Biden administration is under to thwart Huawei’s revival.
Kevin Kurland, one of the officials in charge of exports, commented that Washington’s restrictions on Huawei “have had a significant impact” on its access to American technology. According to the official, they not only want to stop the growth of the manufacturer, but protect national technology of “evil activities.”
These comments have not stopped the frustration among republicans: “These approvals must stop,” Republican Congressman Michael McCaul said in a statement to Reuters. “Two years ago, I was told that Huawei licensing would stop. Today, it doesn’t seem like the policy has changed.” We continue to pay attention to all the news about Huawei and the global technological context, which is experiencing somewhat turbulent times.
Via | Reuters