Friday, March 13th 2020
New U.S. Regulation Prevents Huawei Buying from TSMC, Could Backfire: Chinese Press
Huawei is planning a response to a recent administrative move by the U.S. Department of Commerce that makes it impossible for foreign companies such as Taiwan's TSMC to serve it. Huawei's mobile SoC design house subsidiary, HiSilicon, is highly dependant on TSMC to contract manufacture its SoCs on the company's 7 nm (N7), and various 10 nm-class FinFET nodes. Huawei is preparing to port some of its SoC designs to a 14 nm node of China's state-owned Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) as contingency. Without access to 7 nm, Huawei's plans to lead the global 5G infrastructure market would hit severe roadblocks. The U.S. move has triggered a heated (and somewhat loaded) reprisal from Global Times, a newspaper that's regarded in diplomatic circles as a platform for hawkish unofficial messaging by the Chinese government.
China could blackmail the U.S. into lifting its trade ban and a more recent supplier-access denial to Huawei, with potential shortages of essential medical supplies, particularly face masks. An eminent Chinese industrial analyst, Ma Jihua, told Chinese newspaper Global Times: "The Huawei problem has been elevated to one of national interests and Chinese firms may stop supplying much-needed face masks if the U.S. provokes [a fight with Huawei]." In addition to Chinese suppliers, American firms such as 3M manufacture face masks in China, besides several other consumables needed to fight epidemics, such as gloves, hazmat suits, goggles, etc.Over 1,700 people in the U.S. tested positive for an NCoV infection, and have been quarantined. Maintaining these quarantines, along with the arduous task of decontaminating large populated areas, requires a steady supply of consumables for healthcare and sanitation workers. The United States government in May 2019 imposed a trade ban on Huawei, forcing much of the western tech industry to boycott the Chinese company in compliance with the ban.
The U.S. government has, however, given Huawei some breathing room with an administrative ordinance that allows U.S. companies to do business with Huawei until May 15, 2020, extending from a previous deadline of April 1. The administration also cleared the decks for easy import of medical equipment and supplies from China, something the Global Times report interprets as a tacit admission by the U.S. that it needs China to fight COVID-19. "The US recently granted exclusions for medical products from China, giving a tacit sign of its reliance on Chinese supplies just like US rural areas depend on Huawei telecom equipment," reads the report.
China could blackmail the U.S. into lifting its trade ban and a more recent supplier-access denial to Huawei, with potential shortages of essential medical supplies, particularly face masks. An eminent Chinese industrial analyst, Ma Jihua, told Chinese newspaper Global Times: "The Huawei problem has been elevated to one of national interests and Chinese firms may stop supplying much-needed face masks if the U.S. provokes [a fight with Huawei]." In addition to Chinese suppliers, American firms such as 3M manufacture face masks in China, besides several other consumables needed to fight epidemics, such as gloves, hazmat suits, goggles, etc.Over 1,700 people in the U.S. tested positive for an NCoV infection, and have been quarantined. Maintaining these quarantines, along with the arduous task of decontaminating large populated areas, requires a steady supply of consumables for healthcare and sanitation workers. The United States government in May 2019 imposed a trade ban on Huawei, forcing much of the western tech industry to boycott the Chinese company in compliance with the ban.
The U.S. government has, however, given Huawei some breathing room with an administrative ordinance that allows U.S. companies to do business with Huawei until May 15, 2020, extending from a previous deadline of April 1. The administration also cleared the decks for easy import of medical equipment and supplies from China, something the Global Times report interprets as a tacit admission by the U.S. that it needs China to fight COVID-19. "The US recently granted exclusions for medical products from China, giving a tacit sign of its reliance on Chinese supplies just like US rural areas depend on Huawei telecom equipment," reads the report.