It’s too late to ‘constrain’ China

The US government has officially launched an investigation into an advanced chip manufactured in China, which is used in the latest Huawei smartphone. The recent launch of this new smartphone by the Chinese company has sparked a debate in Washington about the effectiveness of sanctions against the country. These sanctions are specifically aimed at preventing China from developing advanced chips that could also be used for military purposes.

The US Department of Commerce, which has imposed a series of restrictions on Huawei and China over the past two years, stated that it is working to gather more information about an “alleged” 7-nanometer processor discovered in the Mate 60 Pro. The chip is manufactured by the Chinese chipmaker SMIC, which, like Huawei, has been blacklisted by the US and has no access to American technology.

The revelation of the new mobile phone, the Mate 60 Pro, utilizing technology that the US is trying to keep out of China’s hands, has caused significant turmoil in Washington and raised doubts about the controls on imposed export restrictions. The smartphone went on sale last week during the visit of US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to China, where she aimed to improve the relationship between the two superpowers.

Huawei abruptly launched the Mate 60 Pro in the Chinese market without prior announcement and without a major advertising campaign. Normally, manufacturers introduce new smartphones with a lot of fanfare at large events. On Friday, Huawei went even further by launching an even more powerful smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro+, in a short video message on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.

The new Huawei devices have generated a flood of nationalist sentiment on Chinese social media, portraying them as a triumph in light of US sanctions.