There has been a lot of talk in China these days about Huawei’s latest phone, which was presented there as a major victory for Chinese technology, which has been seriously affected by the sanctions imposed by the US in recent years. However, the Huawei Mate 60 Pro phones have caused a lot of concern in the US, as the Chinese manufacturer seems to have managed to create a very advanced phone, even though the sanctions are severe.

Huawei unveiled the Mate 60 Pro phones during US Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo’s visit to China, and the timing was no coincidence. Sanctions imposed by the US on Huawei in 2019 destroyed the telecommunications company’s business, and it no longer had access to American components for its phones, most clearly in the area of ​​processors.

Huawei has now launched a phone with a powerful 5G processor, which is said to be manufactured in China using 7nm technology by local company SMIC.

It is difficult to produce a new processor, the costs are high, it is extremely difficult to find the necessary equipment, so the success of the Chinese was perceived there as an extraordinary triumph.

Chinese social networks talked about China’s “heroic” fight against the technological “blockade” of the United States, and this phone was presented as a “slap” to those who want to put China in a “corner”.

Memes appeared in which the American official Gina M. Raimondo promoted a Huawei phone, phone covers appeared with her photo, as well as with a photo of Chinese President Xi.

What came as a surprise was the fact that the phone has many components made in China, and the proportion of local components used to produce the processor called the Kirin 9000S exceeds expectations. He was surprised by the number of parts that came from America before the sanctions and are now being made in China.

In the US, many important people were concerned when they saw the news about the new smartphones from China, and one of the conclusions was that the sanctions were not enough and that they should be followed by stronger ones.

In the US, the Biden administration is preparing to strengthen sanctions against American technologies that would end up in China. During this time, the official publication of the Chinese Communist Party wrote: “Chinese companies are determined to innovate, and external pressure will not easily destroy them.”

Voices also came from the US trying to calm things down, suggesting that the chip was not that powerful and that it was probably built using older and less sophisticated machines that SMIC had previously received to enforce US sanctions.

On slightly older machines, powerful chips can be developed, but it takes a long time, and the proportion of problematic components can be very high. It is possible that Huawei may release a limited number of such Mate 60 Pro phones.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters