The Commerce Secretary says there is no evidence that Huawei can make powerful technology chips

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says the US government has no evidence Huawei can create smartphones with powerful technology “at scale” as it investigates how the sanctioned Chinese manufacturer made an apparent breakthrough with its current flagship gadget.

Raimondo told US lawmakers on Tuesday that Huawei's Mate 60 Pro unveiling during her visit to China last month “upset” her.

“The only good news, if there is any, is we don’t have any evidence that they can manufacture 7-nanometer [chips] at scale,” she told a US House panel.

I can't discuss specific investigations, but I assure you this: we investigate every time we find reliable evidence that a corporation has violated our export controls.”

Analysts called the smartphone a “milestone” for China, saying Huawei may have bypassed American export rules.

US officials have long contended that the firm threatens national security, restricting trade with it. The charges are strongly disputed by Huawei.

Huawei was added to the US "entity list" in 2019, restricting shipments to certain companies without US government licenses. The next year, the US authorities sought to ban Huawei from chip suppliers using US technology.

Once the second-largest smartphone vendor, the company was in trouble.

Huawei fell out of the top five Chinese and global mobile phone vendors in the second quarter of 2023, according to Counterpoint Research.

The company aims to sell another 5G phone in the coming months, possibly under Nova, its mid-range portfolio, IT Times reported Tuesday, citing unidentified industry insiders.