Mainland Chinese foundries like Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) have access to the same technologies Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) initially used to make 7-nm chips. Evidence emerged last year that SMIC was already producing sub-14-nm chips for commercial use. Still, SMIC’s achievement is impressive and sheds light on the Chinese industry’s capacity to thrive despite US controls.
Huawei Technologies unveiled its new 5G smartphone during the recent visit to Beijing by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who is in charge of the export controls that target Chinese access to semiconductors.
Among other goals, the US controls introduced last October aim to deny China chips fabricated at process nodes of 14 nanometres and below, justified by the need to stop Beijing from accessing advanced military and surveillance technologies based on cutting-edge chips. Yet, the chip at the heart of Huawei’s Mate 60 Pro — the Kirin 9000S — is not a technological revelation.
