Huawei chips lag one generation behind U.S., but company pursuing workarounds, CEO says
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Huawei Technologies’ chips are currently one generation behind those of their U.S. counterparts, but the company is working to boost performance through approaches like cluster computing, according to CEO Ren Zhengfei, as reported by Chinese state media on Tuesday.
In an interview with the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, Ren stated that Huawei invests approximately $25.07 billion (180 billion yuan) annually in research and development. He also highlighted the potential of compound chips—semiconductors made from a combination of different elements—as a promising area of innovation.
There is “no need to worry about the chip problem,” Ren said, addressing concerns stemming from U.S. export controls.
The article comes as top U.S. and Chinese officials are set to resume trade talks for a second day in London, where topics such as U.S. tech restrictions on China are expected to be discussed.
Since 2019, a series of U.S. export restrictions—designed to limit China’s technological and military progress—have blocked Huawei and other Chinese companies from obtaining advanced chips and the equipment required to manufacture them from overseas suppliers.
Ren Zhengfei’s remarks mark the first time he or Huawei has publicly addressed the company’s efforts in advanced chip making, a topic that has become a key point of contention in the ongoing U.S.-China tech rivalry.
Huawei is aiming to become a domestic competitor to Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) in the AI chip market, especially in China. In April, it was reported that Huawei intends to start mass shipments of its advanced 910C AI chip to Chinese customers soon.
Potentially relevant semiconductor stocks: Broadcom (AVGO), Micron (MU), Qualcomm (QCOM), Texas Instruments (TXN), Analog Devices (ADI) and ON Semiconductor (ON).