Huawei is brushing off US-imposed chip sanctions, or so it claims

Several of China's major consumer electronics companies, represented by their CEOs, recently met with President Xi Jinping at a major forum. At first, the state media provided only scarce remarks by Xi, but now, we have some idea what Huawei, Xiaomi bosses have talked about with the head of state.

Apparently, Huawei has delivered encouraging news to the president regarding concerns over China's semiconductor shortages. The company indicated that the country's technological progress is steadily "improving", with both the semiconductor and operating system challenges coming under control and expected to see further advancements.

The private sector executives are talking about, of course, the impact of US-imposed restrictions on China's technology industry. Huawei, which was arguably hit hardest of them all with numerous hardware and software restrictions, appears to have provided reassurance on this front.

Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, participated in the meeting and informed the chief of state that the difficulties surrounding China's semiconductor supply were gradually easing. He noted that the nation's reliance on foreign-made chips and operating systems was diminishing.

Ren Zhengfei emphasized that China's concerns over its technological "core and soul" had lessened and expressed confidence that the country would continue to accelerate its advancements in the sector. He asserted his belief that China's rise in technology would be swift.

A Chinese technology minister clarified that the term "core" refers to semiconductors, while "soul" represents operating systems.

The ongoing US-China chip dispute dates back to 2019 when the US government imposed restrictions on Huawei, cutting off its access to critical technologies and advanced chipmaking equipment. The sanctions severely impacted Huawei, limiting its ability to produce high-end semiconductors.

Additionally, US authorities barred Google from providing its mobile services to Huawei devices, affecting the efficiency of its operating system.

Despite these challenges, Huawei collaborated with domestic partners to develop its own Kirin 5G chips and HarmonyOS NEXT operating system. Well, Huawei's latest phones that were tested by us here at PhoneArena all tell the same story: they incorporate in-house Kirin chips… and it shows. Sure, they're not "bad" or "slow", but they are not as advanced as their, say, Apple or Qualcomm Snapdragon counterparts.