Huawei to stop making flagship chipsets as U.S. pressure bites, Chinese media say
The U.S. ordered software suppliers to refrain from doing business with Huawei in May
Huawei Technologies Co will stop making its flagship Kirin chipsets next month, financial magazine Caixin said on Saturday, as the impact of U.S. pressure on the Chinese tech giant grows.
U.S. pressure on Huawei’s suppliers has made it impossible for the company’s HiSilicon chip division to keep making the chipsets, key components for mobile phones, Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s Consumer Business Unit was quoted as saying at the launch of the company’s new Mate 40 handset.
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With U.S.-China relations at their worst in decades, Washington is pressing governments around the world to squeeze Huawei out, arguing it would hand over data to the Chinese government for spying. Huawei denies it spies for China.
Attendees walk past a display for 5G services from Chinese technology firm Huawei at the PT Expo in Beijing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
The United States is also seeking the extradition from Canada of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, on charges of bank fraud.
In May, the U.S. Commerce Department issued orders that required suppliers of software and manufacturing equipment to refrain from doing business with Huawei without first obtaining a license.
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“From Sept. 15 onward, our flagship Kirin processors cannot be produced,” Yu said, according to Caixin. “Our AI-powered chips also cannot be processed. This is a huge loss for us.”
Huawei’s HiSilicon division relies on software from U.S. companies such as Cadence Design Systems or Synopsys to design its chips and it outsources the production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which uses equipment from U.S. companies.
Huawei declined comment on the Caixin report. TSMC, Cadence and Synopsys did not immediately respond to email requests for comment.