A controversial chipset powering Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro has drawn criticism from US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who said 60 Minutes from CBS News the device’s processor is years behind what’s available in the United States.
The company’s use of 7nm silicon, produced by state-owned Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), shows that US sanctions against Huawei and other Chinese companies are working because the processor is not the more advanced, she said.
Raimondo explained that the United States wants to trade with China on the vast majority of goods and services, but not on technologies that affect national security.
She suggested that China is “waking up every day to figure out how to circumvent our regulations,” forcing the U.S. government to be more “relentless and aggressive.”
Huawei renamed its P-series line last week, and reports that it is preparing a new flagship called the Pura 70.
Various reports suggest the device would be powered by a Chinese-made chipset similar to that of the Mate 60 Pro, which was hailed as a breakthrough when it launched in August 2023, sparking concerns in the US over the processor’s origins of the device.
Last month, U.S. Undersecretary of Commerce, Industry and Security Alan Estevez suggested that SMIC had “potentially” violated U.S. controls in manufacturing chips for the Shenzhen-based company, the ministry said. of Commerce conducting an investigation.