KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER
- US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has downplayed Huawei’s latest technological advancement in microchips.
- Raimondo says the United States remains far ahead of China in chip technology.
- The Biden administration has allocated billions of dollars to support domestic research and manufacturing of high-tech chips.
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo downplayed the significance of Huawei Technologies’ latest microchip breakthrough, arguing that the US remains far ahead of China in this critical technology.
In an interview with CBS NewsOn “60 Minutes,” Raimondo said Sunday that the advanced Chinese-made chip in a Huawei phone from last year remains “years behind what we have in the United States.”
“We have the most sophisticated semiconductors in the world. China does not. We have surpassed China in innovation,” she said, emphasizing that it was “just ” to include Taiwan in its use of “we”.
Huawei, which is blacklisted in the United States, launched the Mate 60 Pro smartphone, powered by a 5G-compatible chip, in August, despite a series of US export controls at the end of 2022. Huawei is Apple’s (AAPL) main competitor for high-end phones in China.
The Biden administration has distributed funds to help revitalize U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.
Earlier this month, the White House announced up to $6.6 billion in direct federal funding for the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) industrial complex in Arizona as part of the CHIPS and Science Act. which supports domestic high-tech chip research and manufacturing.
Recent CHIPS Act award winners include Intel (INTC), with up to $8.5 billion in grants plus an additional $11 billion in loans, and Micron Technology (MU) reportedly set to receive 6. $1 billion in federal grants this week to help build its network. domestic installations.