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Tech war: Huawei’s growing laptop business in China under threat after US revokes Intel, Qualcomm chip export licences

  • Most of Huawei’s consumer laptops launched since 2022 have been powered by Intel or Qualcomm processors
  • Further curbs on access to Intel and Qualcomm chips would pose challenges to Huawei’s growing PC business in China

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A Huawei store in Shanghai, China. Photo: Bloomberg
Iris Dengin Shenzhen
US-sanctioned Chinese telecommunications gear maker Huawei Technologies is under renewed pressure after Washington withdrew export licences that had allowed it to buy chips used in notebook computers and smartphones.
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The US government has revoked special licences that let chip suppliers Qualcomm and Intel sell older-generation semiconductors to Huawei for use in its laptops and handsets, according to a Reuters report on Wednesday citing anonymous sources.

The US commerce department confirmed that some export licences related to Huawei had been withdrawn, the report said.

Beijing called the move “a typical economic coercion practice” and a violation of US commitment to not decouple from China. It “will take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese firms,” a spokesperson of China’s commerce ministry said on Wednesday.

Huawei’s consumer business chief Richard Yu Chengdong holding the company’s latest laptop, the Matebook X Pro, at a launch event last month. Photo: Handout
Huawei’s consumer business chief Richard Yu Chengdong holding the company’s latest laptop, the Matebook X Pro, at a launch event last month. Photo: Handout

Huawei did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

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According to the Post’s review of more than a dozen Huawei consumer laptop models launched since 2022, most were powered by Intel’s Core processors, with the exception of the Matebook E Go, which runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip.

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