WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 25: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo listens as U.S. President Joe Biden participates virtually in the Creating Incentives for American Produced Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act in the South Court Auditorium of the White House in July Meeting February 25, 2022 in Washington, DC.
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U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Sunday downplayed Huawei Technologies Co.’s latest microchip breakthrough, saying The United States is still far ahead of China in key technologies.
The comments, made on CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” were in line with the Commerce Secretary’s position that the Biden administration’s restrictions on chip sales to China are working, even though Huawei phones last year used advanced Chinese-made chips.
“This is years behind us in the United States. We have the most advanced semiconductors in the world. China does not. We have surpassed China in innovation,” Raimondo said in an interview broadcast in the United States on Sunday night.
Huawei, which is on the U.S. blacklist, launched the Mate 60 Pro smartphone in August with a 5G-enabled chip – a feat thought to be hampered by a series of U.S. export controls in late 2022. Difficulty. The phone was launched during Raimondo’s visit to the United States.
The trip follows reports that Raimondo’s emails had been accessed by hackers linked to China.
“Obviously, I have their attention,” she said, adding that the United States would continue to take action to protect U.S. national security and businesses.
A senior U.S. Commerce Department official said Huawei’s chip manufacturing partner Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation “may” have violated U.S. law by supplying advanced chips to the Chinese mobile phone maker.
Since the release of the Mate 60 Pro, the United States has further tightened restrictions on the sale of advanced semiconductor technology in China.
Chinese officials have repeatedly decried policies that require any company around the world to obtain a license to sell products using advanced U.S.-designed chip technology to countries considered adversaries.
U.S. chip companies, which rely heavily on China for many of their operations, have also expressed concerns about losing market access.
“We want to trade the vast majority of goods and services with China,” Raimondo said. “But not for those technologies that impact our national security.”
The global race for chips intensified after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, prompting the United States and allies such as the Netherlands and Japan to tighten export controls on advanced technology. CNBC previously reported that Russia has obtained advanced Western technology through intermediary countries such as China.
“Our export controls have really hurt (Russia’s) ability to wage war and made it more difficult,” Raimondo said, though she acknowledged that Russia has found some alternative sources of chips.
The Commerce Department also oversees the allocation of the Biden administration’s nearly $53 billion chip bill, which aims to build up the domestic semiconductor industry and weaken competitors such as China.
Billions of dollars in grants and loans have been earmarked for chipmakers in recent weeks Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Samsung Electronics and Micron Technologythese are increasing U.S. production capacity
Raimondo told CNBC earlier this month that all funding allocated to the CHIPS Act would be released by the end of the year.
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