Huawei circumvented the U.S. sanctions and introduced the Kirin 9000S to the industry, but it has broader goals for the future, and to help achieve that, some Taiwanese technology companies are helping the Chinese firm build chip firms all across the region.
TSMC will not be part of the group of companies helping Huawei to build the chip-factory network
Huawei already has a new chip plant located in Shenzhen, which the company began construction in August this year, though its purpose has not been mentioned in Bloomberg’s latest report. As for the Taiwanese companies that will assist the former Chinese giant in forming this ‘under-the-radar’ network of chip plants, TSMC is not one of them, but the ones named are Chinese subsidiaries of L&K Eng., Cica-Huntek Chemical Technology, the Chinese subsidiary of United Integrated Services Co and others.
It is said that the collaboration of these companies was vital in constructing the most advanced semiconductor plants in Taiwan, so it is safe to assume that their intention is to achieve the same goal in China. The report does not mention as to what kind of technology these chip plants will produce or how these Taiwanese firms intend to lend their support to Huawei.
Therefore, it is difficult to ascertain if Huawei has actually violated U.S. trade sanctions. We have mentioned that SMIC, the semiconductor manufacturer that mass produced the Kirin 9000S, cannot progress beyond the 7nm lithography ceiling if it is unable to procure advanced EUV machinery from companies such as ASML.
Unfortunately, ASML has been barred from selling SMIC or China any of these EUV machines. Even then, the report does not go into detail if any of these Taiwanese companies have any role to play in helping Huawei manufacture future smartphone, tablet, and automobile chipsets on a more advanced manufacturing process.
However, the report does state that one of these firms works on semiconductor waste management systems, but that still does not provide sufficient information on what Huawei’s ultimate goals are for the future. Maybe next year, we will have a clearer picture.
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