Sanctions by US authorities not only prohibit HUAWEI from cooperating with local companies; but also impose restrictions on the use of American technology and development. In particular, this influenced the collaboration between HUAWEI and TSMC. Therefore, the Chinese technologic giant decided to diversify the production of its semiconductor products.
According to available information, the US government is putting pressure on Taiwan’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, TSMC; in order to stop cooperation or reduce the number of chips produced for HUAWEI. The claims are well founded because TSMC relies in part on American technologies. Therefore, HUAWEI decided to protect itself from the new sanctions by giving part of the orders for semiconductor manufacturing to the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), which can boast of the largest production in mainland China.
Sources claim that as early as the end of 2019; HUAWEI engineers began consulting with colleagues at SMIC in order to speed up the transition to more modern technology. It was previously reported that HUAWEI had already ordered a portion of 14 nm chips using Finfet technology from SMIC.
It is now reported that the SMIC factory in Shanghai will have an improved line for integrated circuits – 35,000 units per month. True, TSMC is still the leader in the introduction of new technologies, so it is reported that the Taiwanese company will be producing 5 nm chips for HUAWEI.
