China’s Huawei is resuming production of its own chips in order to build up US-free manufacturing chains.
Once the world’s biggest smartphone maker, the Chinese tech giant has been hampered by an escalating series of American export clampdowns that started in 2019.
Although Huawei owns HiSilicon Technologies, which designs some of the world’s most advanced processor chips for smartphones and televisions. HiSilicon, however, relied on contract chipmakers such as TSMC, GlobalFoundries and SMIC, international companies who cut ties with Huawei after sanctions tightened in 2019.
After three years of exhausting previously built-up supplies and relying “upon off-the-shelf” chips, Huawei is now partnering with fellow Chinese chipmakers — the likes of Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co. (JHICC) and Ningbo Semiconductor International, both also on the American blacklist — to ramp up production of its own chips.
To facilitate speedy production, a number of Huawei’s previous chips have been re-designed to be produced on older factory technology more prevalent in China.
Huawei is prioritising production of chips for telecom equipment and the automotive business.
Production is expected to begin this year.
