Alan Estevez, U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, stated on the 21st (local time) that SMIC, China's largest foundry company, may have violated U.S. export controls on China to manufacture Huawei chips.
Bloomberg reported that during a House hearing, when Estevez was asked whether the 7nm (nanometer, one billionth of a meter) processor made by SMIC for Huawei violated U.S. export controls, he replied, "Potentially, yes."
Allen Estevez, U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Assistant Secretary for Industry and Security [Photo by Yonhap News]
Regarding the investigation into sanctions violations against SMIC, he said, "I cannot say whether an investigation will proceed or not," but added, "We definitely share such concerns (about violations)."
Estevez described SMIC's manufacturing process as having "low yields." This reiterated the Commerce Department's previous stance questioning whether China can mass-produce high-performance semiconductors with consistent performance thresholds.
Despite U.S. semiconductor sanctions against China last year, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei released the 5G smartphone "Mate 60 Pro" in August, equipped with a 7nm chip. The chip was manufactured by SMIC, but it is known to have used technology from Dutch equipment company ASML and U.S. equipment manufacturers such as Lam Research. According to Bloomberg, the equipment was exported to China before the U.S. and Netherlands' trade restrictions took effect.
Estevez stated, "SMIC introduced the equipment before the U.S. sanctions began." He added, "It was not the most advanced equipment, but equipment of a lower tier," and said, "Over time, the process will degrade." The Biden administration banned domestic companies from exporting equipment necessary for advanced semiconductor manufacturing to China in 2022. It also urged allied countries to halt exports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China.
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