Huawei and China's leading chipmaker SMIC have created an advanced 7-nanometer processor for their latest smartphone, a sign that Beijing has made great progress in a nationwide effort to circumvent U.S. efforts to curb its technological development.
According to an analysis conducted by TechInsights for Bloomberg News, the company's Mate 60 Pro is equipped with 7nm SMIC chips
Huawei Mate 60 Pro is equipped with a new Kirin 9000s chip, which was manufactured in China by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., according to a phone analysis conducted by TechInsights for Bloomberg News. According to the research firm, this processor is the first to use the most advanced 7nm SMIC technology, and this suggests that the Chinese government has made some progress in trying to create a domestic ecosystem of chips.
There are still many unknowns about the progress of SMIC and Huawei, including whether they will be able to produce chips in large volumes or at a reasonable price. But the Mate 60 chip raises questions about the effectiveness of the U.S.-led global campaign to prevent China from accessing advanced technologies, prompted by concerns that they could be used to boost China's military capabilities. Last year, the US administration, with the help of export controls, tried to draw a line preventing China from gaining access to 14-nm chips, which means lagging behind the most advanced technologies by about eight years. The US has also blacklisted Huawei and SMIC. Now China has demonstrated that it can produce at least a limited number of chips in the 7nm process, gradually approaching its goal of independence in the critical field of semiconductors.
"This is a very important step for China," said Dan Hutcheson, vice chairman of TechInsights. "SMIC's technological advancements are on an accelerated trajectory and it looks like the company has solved the performance-impacting issues in their 7nm technology."
SMIC shares traded in Hong Kong rose 11% on Monday after the report was published, which was the biggest jump since January 2021. In Shanghai, the company's shares rose by 6%.
The TechInsights analysis, which has been researching the electronic insides of hundreds of devices for some of the world's largest technology companies for decades, represents the most authoritative analysis of the Mate 60 Pro components since its sudden appearance caused a huge spike in speculation.
Last week, Huawei quietly introduced the phone on the Internet without revealing the key characteristics. This happened during a visit to China by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
