Tech war: Huawei helps China to win ‘symbolic’ victory in defying Washington’s sanctions with Mate 60 Pro but headwinds remain
- Huawei has said little on the technology behind the chip in its latest phone, triggering an industry guessing game about its origins
- Mate 60 Pro has triggered an outpouring of nationalist sentiment, with netizens hailing the device as proof that China can beat US sanctions
The China-made chip at the heart of the Mate 60 Pro phone launched by Huawei Technologies in the past week marks a clear win for the country in its attempts to defy Washington’s sanctions, but analysts say it is premature for Beijing to declare victory in the ongoing technology war.
Shenzhen-based Huawei, which has been denied access to advanced US origin chip technologies since 2020, has said little on the technology behind the chip in its latest phone, triggering an industry guessing game about its origins.
According to a teardown by TechInsights, a Canadian semiconductor intelligence firm, the chip used is the Kirin 9000s, fabricated by China’s top foundry, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), using existing equipment.
It “represents a made-in-China design and manufacturing milestone for the most advanced Chinese foundry”, it said. SMIC did not reply to a request for comment on the matter.
The Mate 60 Pro has triggered an outpouring of nationalist sentiment, with netizens hailing the device as proof that China can make technological breakthroughs in the face of tough US sanctions.
In the past week, consumers have lined up at Huawei’s usually quiet stores to buy the new model, priced at 6,999 yuan (US$958). The stock prices of companies related to the sector have surged as a result, with SMIC up around 5 per cent over the past five days in Hong Kong.
