China blasts new US rule banning use of Huawei's Ascend advanced computer chips

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China has blasted a new U.S. rule against use of Ascend computer chips made by Huawei Technologies anywhere in the world, chafing Thursday against the limitations of a temporary truce in the trade war between the two biggest economies.

Beijing moved ahead, however, with fulfilling its promise to lift retaliatory measures it imposed after U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his trade war, raising tariffs on Chinese products to as high as 145%. One key action was to remove a ban on exports to the United States of minerals known as rare earths that are used in many high-tech products.

Despite the deal struck last weekend in Geneva, frictions remain.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security issued guidance saying that Huawei's Ascend semiconductors are subject to U.S. export controls, on the basis that they are thought to employ U.S. technology.

“These chips were likely developed or produced in violation of U.S. export controls,” it said in a statement on its website, adding that “the use of such PRC advanced computing ICs risks violating U.S. export controls and may subject companies to BIS enforcement action.”

China's Commerce Ministry responded that the move was "not conducive to long-term, mutually beneficial, and sustainable cooperation and development between the two countries. The Chinese side urges the U.S. side to immediately correct its erroneous practices,” said ministry spokesperson He Yongqian.

Huawei's Ascend chip is central to China's effort to build its own capacity to build leading edge computer chips and other technologies. Analysts say use of the chip in China's DeepSeek artificial intelligence effort reflects a potential challenge for Nvidia in the global AI market.

He also lashed out against U.S. tariffs on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum, which have not gotten a reprieve after Beijing and Washington agreed to their pause in many tariff increases.

She said the U.S. should give up its use of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which gives the president power to impose tariffs on other countries on national security grounds.

In February, Trump drew on that authority to restore 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum that he had imposed during his first term in office.

Speaking at a weekly ministry briefing, He urged the US to end the higher tariffs “as soon as possible."

The 30% levy that America is now imposing on Chinese goods includes an existing 20% tariff intended to pressure China into doing more to prevent the the synthetic opioid fentanyl from entering the United States. It also includes the same 10% “baseline’’ tariff Trump has slapped on imports from most of the world’s countries. The 30% tax comes on top of other levies on China, including some left over from Trump’s first term and kept by former President Joe Biden.

China is imposing a 10% tariff on U.S. products during the 90-day negotiating period.

 AP by ELAINE KURTENBACH

China absolutely won’t accept suppression, vows to safeguard Chinese firms’ right, FM on US curbs on Huawei AI chips

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian

In response to a recent announcement by the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, which claimed that using Huawei's Ascend chips anywhere in the world violates US export controls and it warned the public about the potential consequences of allowing US artificial intelligence chips to be used to train Chinese AI models, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Friday that the US overstretches the concept of national security, abuses export control measures and long-arm jurisdiction and imposes malicious restrictions and crackdown on Chinese chip products and AI industry based on unfounded accusations.

The US move seriously undermines market rules, disrupts the stability of the global industrial and supply chains, and gravely undermines the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, Lin said. 

China strongly opposes and absolutely won't accept such actions and we urge the US to immediately correct its wrongful practice, stop the reckless suppression of Chinese tech companies and the AI industry, Lin said. China will take resolute measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, Lin said. - By Global Times

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Global ambitions: A man using his mobile phone in front of a billboard in Beijing, China. Huawei says that the first lineup of its PCs has built-in AI features, including DeepSeek-powered apps. — Bloomberg

IN the latest sign that US attempts to choke Huawei Technologies Co are only strengthening it, the Chinese tech giant will next week release its first line of personal computers (PCs) powered by the homegrown HarmonyOS operating system (OS).

The move to challenge the global duopoly overseen by Microsoft Corp’s Windows and Apple Inc’s MacOS was not by choice.

Huawei’s licence to run Windows on PCs expired in March, and America’s blacklisting makes it difficult for US firms to continue to do business with it.

Instead of succumbing to Washington’s squeeze, Huawei has invested heavily in the nearly impossible task of creating an entirely new software ecosystem from scratch.

It will be an uphill battle for HarmonyOS to make a dent, both in China and globally.

The first computers run by Windows or MacOS were released in the 80s and are the foundation – and essentially only options – for most applications and services that PC users rely on.

The diffusion and adoption of a new operating system doesn’t happen overnight.

But if Huawei can succeed in getting developers on board, it has a shot at providing the first real alternative to this two-party standard and offering a Chinese alternative that could eventually erode the long-term influence of Silicon Valley.

The new PCs follow the remarkable gains made by Huawei’s OS for mobile over the past couple of years, unseating Apple’s iOS in domestic market share at a rapid clip.

In early 2023, HarmonyOS’s operating system had just 8% of the mobile market in China, compared to the 72% held by Alphabet Inc’s Google-backed Android and iOS’s 20%, according to Counterpoint Research.

In the last quarter of 2024, however, HarmonyOS commanded 19% – surpassing iOS’s 17% and pushing Android’s share down to 64%.

There are other elements on its side.

Huawei’s homegrown OS aligns with President Xi Jinping’s goal of tech self-sufficiency, meaning it can likely count on government support to boost adoption.

China has a vast domestic market, which means there’s less pressure on Huawei to rely on the United States or foreign consumers as it works out any kinks.

The trade war is pressuring many Chinese to back domestic brands over American alternatives.

Huawei’s hardware empire also gives it a built-in userbase to tap. The company’s strength still largely lies in mobile devices, but it was second only to Lenovo in PC market share in China last year.

Still, headaches were reported with the mobile version, especially related to accessing certain apps that were specifically built for Android or iOS.

Splashy demo videos make the first such PC look like a sleek MacBook, but it’s going to take years for programmers to build out all the applications and products users have grown accustomed to, from Microsoft’s Office suite to Mac’s FaceTime.

By far the biggest challenge, across all devices, remains convincing developers to get on board.

China’s vast pool of engineers gives it an advantage, but Huawei must aggressively incentivise them to build services specifically for HarmonyOS.

It has made some strides. Huawei says that the first lineup of these PCs has built-in artificial intelligence (AI) features, including DeepSeek-powered apps.

State-backed media has reported that they have more than 150 dedicated applications, as well as being compatible with a range of popular Chinese platforms available on mobile.

In its annual report last year, Huawei said that over a billion devices – including phones, tablets and smartwatches – are already running HarmonyOS.

And Huawei has previously signalled global ambitions for its operating system, coinciding with its devices’ increasing popularity across South-East Asia and emerging markets.

A lot of attention has been paid to Huawei’s rise in the hardware sector, and specifically its advances in chipmaking for AI applications.

US efforts to ban advanced semiconductors from China have no doubt slowed AI ambitions. But they have also accelerated Beijing’s development of a domestic and self-sufficient ecosystem.

Most recently, America’s bar on Nvidia Corp’s H20 chips has been criticised for redirecting demand and money toward Huawei’s alternatives. The proliferation of Huawei’s HarmonyOS now makes it clear that we’re seeing a similar scenario play out in China’s software sector.

Washington should assess how its policies have resulted in Huawei growing into the behemoth it is today.

The ramifications extend far beyond potential impacts to US businesses.

In an increasingly bifurcating tech world, Beijing could eventually end up setting the norms and standards that the rest of the world adopts, whether that’s in AI or operating systems. — Bloomberg

Catherine Thorbecke is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech. The views expressed here are the writer’s own.

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Diving into DeepSeek and AI for education; OpenAI targets higher education in the U.S. with ChatGPT rollout at California State University

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OpenAI targets higher education in the U.S. with ChatGPT rollout at California State University

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

(Reuters) - Microsoft-backed OpenAI said on Tuesday it will roll out an education-specific version of its chatbot to about 500,000 students and faculty at California State University as it looks to expand its user base in the academic sector and counter competition from rivals like Alphabet .

The rollout will cover 23 campuses of the largest public university system in the United States, enabling students to access personalized tutoring and study guides through the chatbot, while the faculty will be able to use it for administrative tasks.

OpenAI has been looking to integrate ChatGPT into classrooms since 2023, even as initial concerns about its potential use for cheating and plagiarism had prompted some schools to consider bans.

Universities like the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Texas at Austin in the U.S., and the University of Oxford in the UK have already been using ChatGPT Enterprise, prompting OpenAI to launch ChatGPT Edu in May last year.

Rival Alphabet has already been expanding into the education sector, where it has announced a $120 million investment fund for AI education programs and plans to introduce its GenAI chatbot Gemini to teen students' school-issued Google accounts.

In November, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer opened London's first Google-funded AI university, which will provide older teens with access to resources in artificial intelligence and machine learning, as well as mentorship and expertise from Google's AI company, DeepMind.

(Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

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US runs into 'self-imposed obstacles' as Pentagon seeks Huawei exemption

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Containing China's tech devt, abusing 'natl security' will backfire: experts

Huawei defies US sanctions. Cartoon: Carlos Latuff

Despite US media revealing that the Pentagon is seeking an exemption from a 2019 Act that prohibits the US Department of Defense from contracting with entities that use Huawei equipment, Chinese analysts believe it's not a sign that the US will slow down its crackdown on China's technological development, but does show that the US' abuse of the "national security" concept has backfired, and that as Huawei continues to grow, the US will increasingly run into more self-imposed obstacles. 

According to a Bloomberg report released on Wednesday local time, the Pentagon is provoking "a fresh showdown" with Congress, as it feels it cannot avoid doing business with Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications provider. Some US defense officials also warned of the risk of "national security being jeopardized" if the issue is not properly handled.  

Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which went into effect on August 2020, prohibits US government agencies from buying or contracting with entities that use Huawei components.

Citing officials, Bloomberg claimed that the Pentagon believes Huawei is "so firmly entrenched" in the systems of countries where it does business that it makes finding alternatives almost a mission impossible, especially given that Huawei accounts for almost one-third of all telecommunications equipment revenue worldwide. 

The Pentagon believes that if all the stipulated restrictions related to Huawei were met, it would also disrupt the Pentagon's ability to purchase the vast quantities of medical supplies, drugs, clothing and other types of logistical support the military relies on, Bloomberg reported. 

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Jurgensen said extending the waiver would allow for purchases if they are deemed to further US national security interests. Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate's intelligence committee, also admitted that a waiver may be necessary, according to the Bloomberg report.  

Sun Chenghao, a fellow and head of the US-EU program at the Center for International Security and Strategy in Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that the Pentagon's reported appeal is more about a technical and business-specific issue, and shows very pragmatic thinking on supply chain and cooperation with other countries.

"It does not mean a shift in the US strategy of containing China," said Sun, "The US' attempt to crack down on Chinese technological development is unlikely to stop." 

So far, the House and Senate committees in charge of the legislation have declined to include a waiver in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, according to Bloomberg. In addition, the Biden administration revoked eight licenses in 2024 that allowed some companies to ship goods to Huawei, Reuters reported on Tuesday. 

"The Pentagon's attitudes show that the previous US bill is backfiring, as the US has encountered and has to deal with Huawei's irreplaceability, including Huawei's own technology, as well as Huawei technology integrated into other countries' products," said Lü Xiang, a research fellow from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

If Washington continues its restrictions and containment, it will run into more self-imposed obstacles, Lü noted. 

According to US media reports, four years after Congress ordered local network operators to remove telephone and internet equipment from Chinese companies, there is still much Huawei and ZTE equipment that has not been replaced, especially in rural areas. Only 12 percent of the companies in the Federal Communications Commission program have completed their work, while 40 percent of local network operators cannot complete the removal of Huawei and ZTE equipment due to a 3 billion funding shortfall.

If the "national security threat" claim holds water, isn't the US simply letting Huawei damage its "national security?" Lü asked, "By abusing the concept of national security, the US government has undermined the normal and just market competition."

"America's assassination attempt on Huawei is backfiring. The company is growing stronger and less vulnerable," The Economist said in a headline on June 13.

Huawei is indeed rebounding from the US' crackdown. According to Huawei's annual report released on March 29, the company's global sales revenue in 2023 was 704.2 billion yuan ($96.8 billion), and its net profit rose 144.4 percent year on year. On April 30, Huawei revealed that its profits had soared 564 percent in Q1 of 2024. 

Huawei's growth despite US attempts to write it out of its own and Western allies' markets and industrial chain also shows that the US may be able to achieve some goals in the short term, but it is almost impossible to stifle the global tech giant in the world, Sun said. 

Huawei's development shows the strong resilience of Chinese technology companies, Lü said, "by cracking down on Huawei and protecting its own companies, the US is actually encouraging local competitors to be lazy in innovation. As Huawei gradually makes real breakthroughs, the US goal of containing China's technological development will become increasingly difficult to achieve."

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