In its latest crackdown designed to curb China’s dominance in the tech sector, and amid continued geopolitical tensions, the United States has revoked certain licenses permitting the sale of chips to Shenzhen-based Huawei.
The news, confirmed by the US Department of Commerce (via CNBC), fails to detail the specific licenses that have been revoked.
According to the agency, the decision aligns with the US’s ongoing assessment of how best to safeguard its national security interests amid a dynamic digital threat landscape.
US revokes certain China licenses
This isn’t the US’s first anti-Huawei campaign – in 2019, the US added Huawei to an “entity list” over its concerns that the Chinese company had ties to the country’s military.
Despite recent stringent trade regulations, Huawei has shown tremendous resilience, particularly in its consumer business. The recent launch of the Mate 60 Pro has been a significant factor in the company’s global success – the smartphone uses chips produced by the country’s top chipmaker, SMIC, which addresses and bypasses restrictions imposed by the US and other governments.
Though Huawei doesn’t make it into the list of top five smartphone brands for global shipments, the company saw a colossal 70% year-on-year increase in shipments in mainland China, when in Q1 2024, it accounted for 17% of the entire market.
OPPO, HONOR, vivo and Apple accounted for between 15-16% each, highlighting the level of digital diversity in China.
More broadly, the US government’s actions come amidst escalating tensions between the two nations – President Biden recently signed legislation that could potentially ban TikTok in the US unless it splits from its Chinese parent company.
In recent years, the intertwined nature of economic and geopolitical interests has become increasingly apparent, but the slow development of such restrictions has given both sides time to adapt accordingly, rendering many of the bans ineffective at best.