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SHANGHAI, June 29 (Reuters) - Geopolitics and the national security concerns of some countries are threatening the globalisation of the world’s chip industry and its future growth, the chairman and acting CEO of memory chipmaker Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) said on Thursday. "Our industry itself is cyclical, and each practitioner has his own way of dealing with the cycle. The move barred YMTC's suppliers from shipping U.S. goods to it without a difficult-to-obtain licence. Chen hinted at YMTC's own troubles during his speech, with a direct appeal to equipment suppliers in attendance. "For YMTC that I manage, we can no longer procure parts and components for equipment we had legally bought.

Persons: Chen Nanxiang, Taiwan's TSMC, Morris Chang, Chen, Casey Hall, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Christina Fincher Organizations: Technologies, Huawei Technologies Co, Shanghai Newsroom, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Shanghai, United States, Washington

☆ China firmly opposes Huawei ban by some EU countries
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING/STOCKHOLM, June 16 (Reuters) - China firmly opposes some EU countries' ban on Huawei and said the European Commission has no legal basis nor factual evidence to prohibit the Chinese telecom giant, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday. EU industry chief Thierry Breton on Thursday urged more EU countries to join the 10 that have restricted or banned China's Huawei (HWT.UL) and ZTE (000063.SZ) from their 5G telecoms networks, citing risks to the bloc's collective security. Huawei has criticised the move saying this was not based on a verified, transparent, objective and technical assessment of 5G networks. Publicly singling out an individual entity as HRV without legal basis is against principles of free trade, a Huawei spokesperson said. "As an economic operator in the EU, Huawei holds procedural and substantial rights and should be protected under the EU and Member States’ laws as well as their international commitments," the person said.

Persons: Thierry Breton, Supantha Mukherjee, Foo Yun Chee, Andrew Cawthorne, Toby Chopra Organizations: Huawei, European Commission, EU, Telecom, Member, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, STOCKHOLM, China, Germany, Europe, Member States, Stockholm, Brussels

☆ EU countries right to ban Huawei, ZTE from networks, Breton says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, June 15 (Reuters) - The decision by some European Union countries to ban China's Huawei (HWT.UL) and ZTE (000063.SZ) from their 5G telecoms networks is justified and in line with the bloc's guidelines, EU industry chief Thierry Breton said on Thursday. Breton has in recent weeks voiced concerns that some EU countries still have perceived high risk components in their 5G core network, citing intrusive third-country laws on national intelligence and data security - a veiled reference to China. Breton said only 10 of the 27 EU countries had restricted or blocked high-risk vendors. "This is too slow, and it poses a major security risk and exposes the Union's collective security, since it creates a major dependency for the EU and serious vulnerabilities," he said. Huawei, ZTE and Beijing have strongly rejected Western allegations that the companies' equipment might be used for spying.

Persons: Thierry Breton, Breton, Foo Yun, Mark Potter Organizations: Union, Huawei, EU, ZTE, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, China, Beijing

MiniMax was founded in 2021 by some former employees of SenseTime (0020.HK), including Yan Junjie - a former vice president at the Chinese AI firm, two other people said. Wang Huiwen, co-founder of on-demand service giant Meituan (3690.HK), said he has founded a new AI company called Beijing Lightyear Technology with $50 million from investors. Google China's former chief, Kai-Fu Lee, has unveiled his new startup - Project AI 2.0. Wang Xiaochuan, founder of China's No.2 search engine Sogou, said in April that he had founded Baichuan Intelligence with a startup capital of $50 million. Its other early investors include China's Yunqi Partners and Future Capital, statements from the venture capital funds show.

Persons: MiniMax, Yan Junjie, Wang Huiwen, Kai, Fu Lee, Wang Xiaochuan, China's, MiHoYo, Charlie Chai, ERNIE Bot, Chai, Roxanne Liu, Josh Ye, Himani Sarkar Organizations: Microsoft, HK, Huawei, Baidu, Beijing Lightyear Technology, Google, Baichuan Intelligence, China's Yunqi Partners, Future, 86Research, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, HONG KONG, China, Beijing, miHoYo, Hong Kong

☆ Chinese tech entrepreneurs keen to 'de-China' as tensions with US soar
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But he's dismayed by the U.S.-China trade spats and the restrictions on a growing number of Chinese companies that have been imposed, or are being proposed, by U.S. lawmakers. "It's very unfair," he said, lamenting that competitors from other countries did not face similar issues when trying to expand into the United States. Reuters spoke to seven tech entrepreneurs from mainland China, most of them educated overseas, who would like to expand their businesses in the United States. Geopolitical tensions have meant a far less friendly atmosphere for mainland Chinese companies wanting to operate or gain funding in the United States, the entrepreneurs and consultants say. The U.S. Commerce Department did not respond to a request for comment on attitudes towards Chinese companies within the United States.

Persons: Florence Lo, Ryan, Trump, Joe Biden, Major flashpoints, James McGregor, Xi, Wilson, Chris Pereira, Shein, PDD, Pereira, Tommy, David Kirton, Eduardo Baptista, Casey, Brenda Goh, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Huawei, U.S ., U.S, Micron Technology, Washington DC, Chinese Communist Party, Greater, APCO Worldwide, U.S . Commerce Department, Reuters, of Information, American Ecosystem Institute . Companies, PDD Holdings, U.S . Customs, Border Protection, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: China, SHENZHEN, U.S, Washington, United States, Shenzhen, East Asia, North America, Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Montana, Greater China, Beijing, China's, Shanghai, Dublin

☆ Portugal moves closer to banning Chinese suppliers from 5G
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Sergio Goncalves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON, May 26 (Reuters) - Portugal's cybersecurity council CSSC has issued a resolution that could formally bar telecom operators from using Chinese equipment in their high-speed 5G mobile networks as well 4G platforms on which the new technology is based. The CSSC is the prime minister's consultative body and its document, dated May 23, is another blow to efforts by Chinese technology giant Huawei (HWT.UL) to enter the 5G market in Portugal and possibly extend existing contracts. Portugal's existing 5G networks are not standalone and still largely based on 4G technology and equipment. Its opinion is based on an undisclosed report that evaluated the safety of equipment in public electronic communications networks involving 5G technology. Reporting by Sergio Goncalves Editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's Oppo to shut down chip design unit as smartphone sales slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SHANGHAI, May 13 (Reuters) - Chinese smartphone maker Oppo said it will shut down its chip design unit, citing uncertainties in the global economy and the smartphone industry. The company, one of China's best-selling domestic smartphone brands, said it will cease operations of its Zeku unit, which it set up in 2019. In 2022, smartphone shipments fell 14%, and total unit shipments fell below 300 million for the first time in a decade. In the first quarter, total smartphone shipments dropped 11% year-on-year to 67.2 million units, the lowest quarterly total since 2013, research firm Canalys said last month. Oppo is owned by BBK Electronics, which also owns Vivo, another top-selling Chinese smartphone brand.

While Qualcomm hopes smartphone sales will recover in China in the second half of the year, CEO Cristiano Amon told investors on a conference call that "we have not seen evidence of meaningful recovery and are not incorporating improvements into our planning assumptions." The company said a larger-than-normal decline in its chip revenue forecast from the prior quarter was mainly due "to the timing of purchases by a modem-only handset customer." Qualcomm forecast chips revenue of $6.9 billion to $7.5 billion. Qualcomm also faces stiffer competition, especially for high end smartphone chips, from Taiwan's MediaTek (2454.TW). Qualcomm forecast total revenue of $8.1 billion to $8.9 billion in the third quarter.

☆ China automating mines to improve safety as coal output grows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Andrew Hayley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Tingshu WangYULIN, China, April 28 (Reuters) - China is pushing automated technology to improve the safety and efficiency of its coal mining industry, the world's largest, which has long been plagued by safety lapses. The nearby Xiaobaodang mine, also owned by Shaanxi Coal, has cut its underground staff by 42%. Coal mines in China, which produced more than half the world's coal last year, are among the deadliest, with accidents causing almost 250 deaths in 2022, a six-year high. China's National Energy Administration is urging miners to accelerate their adoption of "smart mining" technology in a bid to improve safety and efficiency as coal output grows with Beijing's efforts to bolster energy security even as it expands its use of renewable sources. Huawei says the Hongliulin mine spent about 200 million yuan on installing intelligent mining.

☆ US official says Chinese cloud companies like Huawei could pose threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Wednesday that Chinese cloud computing companies like Huawei Cloud and Alibaba Cloud (9988.HK) could pose a threat to U.S. security and vowed to review a request to add them to an export control list. A group of nine Republican senators on Tuesday urged the Biden administration to impose sanctions on Huawei Technologies Co's (HWT.UL) cloud unit, Alibaba Cloud and other Chinese cloud service providers. They want Raimondo to add the companies to the Entity List, which imposes U.S. export controls on foreign companies. Raimondo said the Chinese cloud companies could pose a threat. In May 2019, the Commerce Department added Huawei to the export control list over U.S. security concerns.

☆ Biden should sanction Huawei Cloud, other Chinese firms -senators
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - A group of nine Republican senators on Tuesday urged the Biden administration to impose sanctions on Huawei Cloud and other Chinese cloud service providers, citing national security concerns, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The senators said Huawei Cloud launched its "Sky Computing Constellation" in co-sponsorship with Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute also known as "Spacety China" in 2021. Alibaba Cloud, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK), did not immediately comment. Reuters reported in January 2022 that the Biden administration was reviewing the cloud business of e-commerce giant Alibaba to determine whether it poses a risk to U.S. national security. The letter said the Biden administration should consider further investigation or actions against China’s other cloud service providers including Baidu Cloud and Tencent Cloud which may impact U.S. national security.

☆ Huawei launches in-house software system after being cut off from US services
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ERP software is used by companies to manage key business operations ranging from accounting to supply chain management. "We were cut off from the old ERP system and other core operation and management systems three years ago," said Tao Jingwen, a Huawei board member and president of its quality, business process and IT management department. The in-house Meta-ERP has been rolled out across 80% of the company's business, Huawei said in a news release. The cut off was a "massive crisis" for Huawei, Tao said in his speech, saying that the old system had been core to the company's operations for over two decades. Huawei's 'meta-ERP' system is a 'cloud-native' product, which uses the company's cloud-computing systems for greater efficiency than traditional ERP products, the person said.

OAKLAND, California, April 19 (Reuters) - Silicon Valley 5G chip startup EdgeQ Inc said on Wednesday it raised $75 million to help fund a ramp up in production as the company starts selling its technology to customers, including telecom operators. EdgeQ makes semiconductors that power base stations for 5G telecom towers and for 5G access points that can be installed inside places like factories to run robots and autonomous vehicles wirelessly, said Vinay Ravuri, CEO and co-founder of EdgeQ. The fundraising shows that companies viewed as promising by investors are able to secure financing even though funding has dried up for many startups following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the ensuing banking sector turmoil in March. EdgeQ has a valuation of "hundreds of millions of dollars", said Ravuri, adding it was "definitely less than" $1 billion. The recent advent of a new open standard chip architecture called RISC-V has made it possible to design its new 5G chip more cost effectively, he said.

☆ Brazil paves way for semiconductor cooperation with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva gestures near First Lady Rosangela "Janja" da Silva during a visit to Huawei's Research and Development Centre in Shanghai, China, April 13, 2023. Ricardo Stuckert/Handout via REUTERSBEIJING, April 14 (Reuters) - China and Brazil agreed on Friday to set up a working group to pursue cooperation on semiconductors as the South American nation strengthens ties with Beijing in areas of sensitive technology. In an interview with Reuters, Lula's foreign policy advisor Celso Amorim said Brazil will not veto the installation of a Chinese semiconductor factory in Brazil, and is interested in developing the technology in cooperation with China. In the slew of MoUs China and Brazil agreed to "explore mechanisms to promote bilateral cooperation in scientific and technological research and industrial innovation." That would involve joint research and development activities between public, private and academic institutions, and the exchange of scientists and scientific papers.

☆ China's Huawei partners with more automakers to produce Aito EVs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, April 1 (Reuters) - China's Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL) is partnering with more legacy automakers to produce Aito-branded electric cars, the company's senior executive said on Saturday, in a move to expand its presence in the auto industry. Huawei will team up with Chery Automobile (CHERY.UL), BAIC Motor (1958.HK) and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group (600418.SS) in jointly developing and manufacturing Aito-branded vehicles, Richard Yu, Huawei's Smart Car CEO, said at the China EV 100 forum in Beijing. Huawei, which has already a partnership with Seres Group (601127.SS) to make Aito cars, plans a series of models including SUVs, sedans and multipurpose vehicles under the Aito brand, Yu added. Huawei has been hit by a series of export controls by Washington which says it is a security risk, which the company denies. The sanctions have also affected Huawei's partnerships with global automakers, who have given up using Huawei's vehicle connectivity technologies in the past two years, Yu said on Saturday.

☆ China's Huawei says 'out of crisis' mode as revenue edges up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

But it posted net profit of 35.6 billion yuan ($5.18 billion), down some two-thirds from 2021 when profit was helped by the sale of its Honor mid-range smartphone business. INDUSTRY SUPPORTR&D spending over the year rose 13.2% to 161.5 billion yuan ($23.50 billion), equivalent to a quarter of company revenue. Such spending helped Huawei with replacing components in its products that were hit by U.S. trade sanctions, Meng said. Revenue for 2022 came in at 642.3 billion yuan. Huawei's asset-to-liability ratio was 58.9% and it had a net cash balance of 176.3 billion yuan.

☆ Huawei posts slump in annual profit but ekes out revenue growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( David Kirton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SHENZHEN, China, March 31 (Reuters) - China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (HWT.UL) said net profit slumped last year, as the tech conglomerate boosted research and development spending and grappled with increases in materials costs. It posted net profit of 35.6 billion yuan ($5.2 billion), down roughly two-thirds from 2021 when profit was helped by the sale of its Honor mid-range smartphone business. Revenue for 2022 came in at 642.3 billion yuan. R&D spending rose 13.2% to 161.5 billion yuan, equivalent to a quarter of the company's revenue, said Meng. Huawei's asset-to-liability ratio was 58.9% and it had a net cash balance of 176.3 billion yuan.

☆ China's Meizu unveils first smartphones since deal with Geely founder
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A company run by Geely Chairman Eric Li took a majority stake in Meizu last year, making the Volvo owner the first established carmaker to enter the premium smartphone sector. He later named the company Xingji Meizu, with the brand as its smartphone arm. Other tech-auto partnerships in China include Huawei Technologies (HWT.UL), whose Harmony operating system powers Seres cars. Meizu, a two-decade-old Chinese consumer electronics company, rose to prominence early in the 1ast decade as an up-and-coming Chinese Android. ($1 = 6.8766 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Josh Horwitz, Zhang Yan and Brenda GohOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ China's Huawei makes breakthrough in design tools for 14nm chips and above - media
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File PhotoSHENZHEN, China, March 24 - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (HWT.UL) has made breakthroughs in electronic design automation (EDA) tools for chips produced at and above 14-nanometre technology, Caijing financial news magazine reported on Friday, citing a speech by a senior Huawei executive. Huawei will complete testing on the tools this year, rotating chairman Xu Zhijun said in a speech on Feb 28., Caijing reported. Huawei has developed 78 tools related to chip hardware and software, the report added. Chip design companies use EDA software to produce the blueprints for chips before they are mass manufactured at fabs. China is home to a handful of domestic EDA software makers, but experts do not consider them globally competitive.

☆ Huawei makes breakthroughs in design tools for 14nm chips -media
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The announcement comes as Huawei and other Chinese technology companies rush to localise their supply chains in the face of mounting U.S. sanctions. According to a transcript of Xu's remarks published by Caijing, Huawei cooperated with domestic EDA companies to create the software, "basically realising the localisation of EDA tools above 14nm." Chip design companies use EDA software to produce the blueprints for chips before they are mass manufactured at fabs. China is home to a handful of domestic EDA software makers, but experts do not consider them globally competitive. All three overseas EDA companies fell subject to Washington's sanctions against Huawei in 2020.

☆ Huawei touts camera on latest premium smartphone without 5G
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Huawei, also a major supplier of equipment used in 5G telecommunications networks, has been the target of successive rounds of U.S. export controls since 2019. The company's former budget unit Honor claimed 18% of the market last year, with 30% annual growth, Canalys said. Huawei sold Honor to a consortium of over 30 agents and dealers to keep it alive in late 2019. Huawei also launched the more premium P60 Pro and foldable Mate X3, with prices starting at 6,988 yuan and 12,999 yuan respectively. ($1 = 6.8230 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by David Kirton; editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Germany to examine Deutsche Telekom, Huawei ties - Handelsblatt
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BERLIN, March 22 (Reuters) - Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is concerned about the close ties between Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) and Chinese company Huawei (HWT.UL) and wants to examine them, Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Wednesday. "That doesn't look good," Faeser was quoted as saying by the paper. Germany is considering banning certain components from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE (000063.SZ) in its telecoms networks, a government source said, in a potentially significant move to address security concerns. read moreReporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Christoph SteitzOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

March 17 (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's (HWT.UL) founder said that the company has replaced more than 13,000 parts in its products that were hit by U.S. trade sanctions, according to a transcript of a speech posted on Friday by a Chinese university. According to the transcript posted by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei said Huawei had over the past three years replaced the 13,000 components with domestic Chinese substitutes and had redesigned 4,000 circuit boards for it products. He said production of circuit boards had "stabilized." The university posted the transcript on its website on Friday. Ren said Huawei invested $23.8 billion in R&D in 2022, and "as our profitability improves, we'll continue to increase R&D spending."

☆ Huawei ban would have significant impact on German mobile network -ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, March 17 (Reuters) - A ban on certain components by Chinese companies Huawei (HWT.UL) and ZTE (000063.SZ) could have a significant impact on Germany's mobile network if they have to be replaced on a larger scale, according to a German economy ministry letter seen by Reuters. The German government is currently carrying out a review of telecom tech suppliers which it says is not directed at specific manufacturers. The precise impact on mobile operators and other economic players is not possible to assess, the ministry added, as it depends on individual decisions as well as transition periods. Critics of Huawei and ZTE say that their close links to Beijing's security services mean that embedding them in mobile networks could give Chinese spies and even saboteurs access to essential infrastructure. Huawei, ZTE and China's government reject such claims, saying they are motivated by a protectionist desire to support non-Chinese rivals.

☆ Qualcomm spars with EU antitrust regulators over Huawei, ZTE rebates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Foo Yun Chee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LUXEMBOURG, March 14 (Reuters) - Qualcomm (QCOM.O) on Tuesday criticised European Union antitrust regulators over their definition of rebates given to Chinese phone makers Huawei and ZTE in the second day of a court hearing aimed at overturning a 242-million-euro ($259 million) fine. The EU competition enforcer said an analysis of Qualcomm's prices showed it sold some of its chips below cost to Huawei (HWT.UL) and ZTE (000063.SZ), with rebates and discounts driving the final prices down. Had the Commission made those two simple corrections, you would have found no predation," Athina Kontasakou told the court. Martin Farley, a lawyer for the Commission, defended its analysis of Qualcomm's prices as "fundamentally correct and robust". The case is T-671/19 Qualcomm v Commission.

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