Huawei Rotating Chairman: "US Sanctions Cause Semiconductor Panic... Collaboration Must Be Restored"

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Eric Xu, rotating chairman of Huawei, raised his voice regarding the global semiconductor shortage, stating that "U.S. sanctions are the main reason why semiconductor inventories of major companies worldwide have fallen into a state of panic." He also argued that for the industry to get back on track, trust must be rebuilt and collaboration restored across the entire semiconductor supply chain.

According to Huawei and major foreign media on the 13th, Chairman Xu made these remarks at the 'Huawei Global Analyst Summit 2021 (HAS 2021)' held yesterday in Shenzhen, China. Xu said, "The sanctions imposed on Chinese technology companies over the past two years have destroyed trust relationships in the semiconductor industry and dealt a blow to the global semiconductor industry," citing Huawei sanctions as one of the causes of the semiconductor shortage, which was the topic of a White House meeting on the same day.

Previously, the U.S. administration blacklisted Huawei, alleging that it could conduct espionage by using communication equipment installed with 'backdoors' to leak confidential information to the Chinese government. In September last year, additional sanctions came into effect, prohibiting the supply of products made using U.S. equipment, software, and design technology to Huawei without prior approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

On this day, Chairman Xu shared Huawei's business achievements over the past year and announced five strategic initiatives to be pursued in the future.

First, Huawei will optimize its portfolio to enhance business resilience. It plans to strengthen software capabilities and invest more in businesses and intelligent vehicle components that rely less on advanced process technology. The recent $1 billion investment in autonomous vehicles and the focus on the medical and agricultural sectors are part of this strategy.

Additionally, Huawei aims to maximize the value of 5G and lead the wireless communication industry’s development by defining 5.5G together with the industry. Furthermore, it envisions providing seamless, user-centric, and intelligent user experiences across all user scenarios. Besides, Huawei announced efforts to reduce energy consumption for a low-carbon world and to resolve supply chain continuity issues.

Chairman Xu emphasized, "Rebuilding trust and restoring collaboration across the global semiconductor supply chain is essential for this industry to get back on track," adding, "Huawei will continue tirelessly to find out who we are in a complex and unstable global environment."

He continued, "All organizations, companies, and countries will continuously face challenges due to the resurgence of COVID-19 and geopolitical uncertainties," and added, "Huawei deeply believes in the power of digital technology to provide new solutions to the problems we all face. We will continue to drive digital innovation to create a fully connected intelligent world."

First held in 2004, Huawei's Global Analyst Summit is being held until the 14th this year under the theme of 'Building a Fully Connected Intelligent World.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.