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US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Photo: Bloomberg

On CBS News ’ 60 Minutes, the US Commerce Secretary downplayed the chips in Huawei phones and said the technology gap showed the US had succeeded in imposing export restrictions on China. When Ms. Raimondo visited Beijing in August 2023, Huawei introduced a new smartphone using its own 7nm chip.

“It’s years behind what we have in the United States,” Ms. Raimondo said in the interview. “We have the most advanced semiconductors in the world . China doesn’t. We’re way more innovative than China,” she continued.

Alan Estevez, a US Commerce Department official, said SMIC – Huawei’s chipmaking partner – may have violated US law. The Biden administration is considering adding companies suspected of manufacturing chips for Huawei – to the trade ban.

The Commerce Department is playing a key role in the Biden administration’s China strategy, including efforts to keep cutting-edge technology away from the Chinese. After winning over the Netherlands and Japan with export controls last year, the U.S. is tightening the rules again this fall. Ms. Raimondo is looking to allies to further restrict China’s access to foreign technology.

In addition, the US Department of Commerce is also responsible for providing more than $100 billion in grants and loans to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing. In recent weeks, the US announced grants under the CHIPS Act 2022 for Intel, TSMC, Samsung Electronics.

Huawei, a symbol of the US-China tech war, was banned by the US in 2019 over national security concerns. However, Huawei suppliers such as Intel are still licensed to sell to the company. This month, the Chinese giant announced its first AI laptop powered by an Intel chip. The Mate 60 Pro smartphone, due to be released in 2023, has also prompted the US to launch an investigation to find out the details behind the chip.

(According to Reuters, Bloomberg)