Huawei’s latest notebook shows China is still generations behind in chipmaking

Despite concerted efforts by the Chinese to bolster domestic semiconductor production in defiance of US trade policy, new evidence uncovered by Canadian research outlet TechInsights suggests SMIC, the Middle Kingdom's top chip manufacturer, remains generations behind the rest of the world.

In a research note published Monday, TechInsights confirmed that the Kirin X90 system-on-chip (SoC) in Huawei’s Matebook Fold was fabbed on SMIC's now two-year-old 7nm N+2 process. The findings debunk rumors the SoC would be fabbed on a homegrown 5nm process node from SMIC. (Full name: Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation.)

As you may recall, Huawei rocked the semiconductor industry in late 2023 after TechInsights discovered the first concrete evidence that SMIC had managed to mass produce chips on a 7nm process, in spite of US export controls barring the sale of extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) equipment from the likes of ASML in the region.

While ...