SIDESTEPS -HUAWEI- SANCTIONS : CHIP MAKING PRECIS

SHANGHAI : Chinese tech giant Huawei said on Monday it had developed a new way of making semiconductors that could get around its US-enforced lack of access to the most advanced chipmaking equipment.

Huawei has been at the center of a geopolitical standoff in recent years after Washington warned its equipment could be used by the Chinese government for spionage, an allegation the firm denies.

Sanctions since 2019 have cut huawei's access to components and technologies made by the US and one of its allies - including the lithography machines used to make the world's most advanced chips.

However, the head of Huawei's semiconductor division He Tingbo said on Monday that the company will be able to produce chips equivalent to next-generation 1.4-nanometre [ 1.4 nm ] ones by 2031.

Taiwan's TSMC, the industry leader, has projected it will be able to do the same by 2028.

Cutting-edge chips that can train and power artificial intelligence systems are a crucial and highly sensitive element of the technology rivalry between the US and China.

!WOW! thanks AFP.