Today, semiconductor export restrictions on Chinese companies have been a major point of contention in the ongoing US-China tech war. While the name most affected by these restrictions was Huawei, the company took a big hit in smartphone competition. Now, the technology giant is shifting its focus to local production in line with its future plans.Work started for local chip production
Eric Xu, the rotating chairman of Huawei, recently said that China’s semiconductor industry will “reborn” as a result of US sanctions and will support Huawei’s efforts to make the Chinese semiconductor industry more self-sufficient. In short, the official thinks that the sanctions can strengthen China’s domestic semiconductor industry rather than weaken it.
In addition to the statements, Xu confirmed that Huawei and other Chinese firms have jointly created chip design tools for semiconductors of 14 nanometers and above.
Huawei may return soon
In a nutshell, Huawei had to develop its own operating system and reduce its dependence on US technology after US sanctions. However, this process was time-consuming and costly, and Huawei’s smartphone sales suffered as a result. While Huawei’s smartphone sales decreased by more than 20% in 2020, the company had to sell its sub-brand Honor to avoid further losses.
Although the new development is promising for the company, it should be noted that Huawei needs a much smaller nanometer size to compete in the market. As a matter of fact, today TSMC and Samsung are preparing to switch to 3nm production. However, if Huawei’s goals are realized, we can say that it will make an assertive return to the competition.
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