China avoids Western embargo on 5G chips with new Huawei Mate 60 phone | Huawei

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The Mate 60 Pro mobile phone would use a chip made in China, which was considered impossible without access to restricted Western technology.

China has produced a 5G smartphone using an advanced silicon chip at a miniaturization scale that has been deemed beyond its capabilities due to export restrictions imposed by the United States, analysts have said.

Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro is powered by a new Kirin 9000s chip made in China by partly state-owned Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), analytics firm TechInsights said.

Its processor is the first to use SMIC’s most advanced 7-nanometer (nm) technology and suggests the Chinese government is making progress in its attempts to build a national chip ecosystem, the research firm said.

Since 2019, the United States has restricted Huawei’s access to chipmaking tools essential to the production of the most advanced handset models. Despite being a manufacturer of 5G networking equipment, Huawei was previously only able to release limited batches of actual 5G phones using stock chips.

Huawei has been banned from supplying 5G network equipment to many countries, including those in the Five Eyes security alliance, due to national security concerns raised by its ties to the Chinese government. Huawei has filed a complaint with a Lisbon court against the ban on operators using its equipment in 5G mobile networks.

Dan Hutcheson, an analyst at TechInsights, told Reuters the latest development was a “slap in the face” for the United States.

The most advanced chip that SMIC was previously known for had a larger scale of 14nm, as Washington banned SMIC in late 2020 from obtaining the necessary machines from Dutch company ASML.

But TechInsights said in 2022 that it believed SMIC had succeeded in producing 7nm chips by tweaking simpler machines that it could still buy freely from ASML. However, some research companies predicted that only 50% or less of 7nm chips produced in this way would prove usable, compared to the industry standard of 90% or more, and this would limit shipments of the resulting smartphones.

Outside of China, the best 7nm chips are made using a process called extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography – a closely guarded technology the US is working to keep out of Beijing’s hands.

“THE [US] controls impose high costs for producing controlled technology in China,” said Doug Fuller, a chip researcher at Copenhagen Business School, adding that the Chinese government is likely footing the bill.

China is set to launch a new state-backed investment fund that aims to raise about $40 billion for its chip sector, as the country steps up its efforts to catch up with the United States and other rivals.

Huawei started selling its Mate 60 Pro phone last week. The specifications provided advertised its ability to make satellite calls, but offered no information on the power of the chipset inside.

Buyers of the phone in China have posted teardown videos and shared speed tests on social media that suggest the Mate 60 Pro is capable of faster download speeds than high-end 5G phones.

The phone launch sent Chinese social media users and state media into a frenzy, with some pointing out that it coincided with a visit by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Some analysts have said it’s possible that Huawei purchased technology and equipment from SMIC to manufacture the chip rather than doing it collaboratively.

TechInsight’s findings were first reported by Bloomberg News.

With Reuters