China bans iPhone while touting Huawei’s Mate60 Pro

After China officially forbade employees of central government agencies from using smartphones for safety reasons, Apple Inc. shares fell by 6.4 % in just two weeks. The unexpected ban represents the most recent development in the US-China software conflict, and it may be intended to favor Huawei’s fresh Mate60 Pro phone over the phone in regional markets. & nbsp,

The Wall Street Journal reported on September 6 that the Chinese state has issued an order prohibiting employees from using or bringing smartphones into the workplace. According to agencies’ reports from September 7, those bans could then be extended to state-owned enterprises( SOEs ), which employ millions of workers. & nbsp,

Over the course of those two days of trading, Apple’s business assessment fell by US$ 200 billion as a result of the information. & nbsp,

The ban coincided with a campaign by Chinese state media to promote the introduction of Huawei Technologies’ Mate60 Pro, which is equipped with Kirin 9000s, the local Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp ( SMIC ) 7 nanometer chip.

The introduction of the Kirin 9000s represents a turning point in the growth of China’s check industry, according to Lu Tingjie, teacher at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications’ School of Economics and Management. He claimed that the country’s technology space with the West has now shrunk to between three and five years.

On September 12, Apple does introduce its most recent iPhone 15 design, and on the same day, Huawei will host a marketing function for the Mate60 Pro. The new iPhone’s A17 chipset is anticipated to have a 3nm computer, which is about two to three years more sophisticated than an A7 computer. & nbsp,

The US Commerce Department was urged to stop all tech exports to Huawei and SMIC on September 6 by US Representative Mike Gallagher, head of the House Select Committee on China.

The US Commerce Department announced the following day that it is attempting to learn more about the alleged 7nm check in the Mate60 Pro. & nbsp,

According to a Commerce Department voice, trade controls are just one application in the US government’s toolkit for dealing with the risks to national security posed by the PRC. ” The limitations put in place since 2019 have destroyed Huawei and forced it to recreate itself, costing the PRC state a lot of money.”

However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated on September 8 that US restrictions against Chinese businesses will only improve China’s ability to seek technological innovation and self-reliance.

” Technological Cold War”

China threatened to outlaw the use of smartphones in revenge when the Trump presidency forbade US federal employees from using WeChat and TikTok in August 2020.

Beijing, however, refrained from doing so in the years that followed because some Apple products are actually produced in China. But, after Taiwan’s Foxconn moved some of its creation ranges from China to Vietnam and India over the past two years, things appear to have changed. & nbsp,

Representatives at central government agencies are now prohibited from entering agencies with foreign-branded phones, including iPhones, or from using them for official purposes. According to a recent Wall Street Journal statement, China wants to lessen its reliance on foreign systems, improve security, and stop sensitive data leaks.

Past editor-in-chief of the state-run Global Times Hu Xijin said in a social media post on September 8 that if this is the case, the US government should only be held accountable for leading the initiative in issuing official bans on Chinese digital products and escalating the country’s level of national security monitoring. The business interests of both nations will suffer as a result. However, if this pattern persists, the US will experience even more.

According to Hu, Foreign digital products are used on a much larger scale in China than they are in the US. Additionally, he claims that China has significantly more employees than the US in terms of government and public establishments. & nbsp,

The Kirin 9000s bit doesn’t use US systems, he claimed on September 8; therefore, the US will be unable to find any additional justification for sanctioning Huawei. & nbsp,

A Guangdong-based author referred to the wars between China and the US as a” Technological Cold War” in an article that was released on September 8.

She claims that China’s limitations on the use of Tesla vehicles and Apple products are revenge for US sanctions against Huawei that were put in place in May 2019. & nbsp,

These actions, according to her,” may, to some extent, lessen the market shares of US companies in China and reduce the effects of American technology sanctions on China.” ” They can even increase the profitability of China’s technology industry and increase the trust and acceptance of home technology products by the Chinese people.”

She continues by saying that even though China and the US are currently engaged in a modern competition, they can also work together and use technologies to combat social development, epidemic control, and climate change.

According to media reports, safety concerns over cameras installed on Tesla vehicles have prevented them from entering Taiwanese authorities materials since May 2021.

” National life”

The China part appeared to have given up on talking about the problems with the US and moved on to other subjects after US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Foreign Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on August 28 that there is no room for US to deal or negotiate on matters of national security.

Huawei started selling its Mate60 Pro on August 29. TechInsights, a research firm, has since discovered that SMIC produced the Kirin 9000s for the phone using its N 2 technology. & nbsp,

There are many ways to raise Chinese people’s financial expectations, but boosting public trust in long-term technological advancement is a much more challenging task, according to an pro-Bangalore vlogger. ” Many people think that China’s national life will be impacted by whether it can enhance its technology.”

He claims that the introduction of Kirin 9000s has increased Chinese women’s self-assurance. & nbsp,

The start of Mate60 Pro, which coincided with Raimondo’s trip to China and the release of the iPhone 15, was cited as evidence that Chinese businesses are capable of innovation by The China Youth Network, a news site run by the Communist Youth League of China. It claimed that the US’s use of technology and device restrictions against China will only harm itself.

Calvin Choy, a Hong Kong commentator, asserts that SMIC did not actually innovate anything because it only adopted its N 2 technology, which Taiwan’s TSMC had already achieved in 2017. If Huawei and SMIC are unable to acquire the extreme ultraviolet ( EUV ) lithography technology used to create high-end chips, he claims, it is unlikely that they will be able to make any further advancements.

Read: SMIC & nbsp produces 7nm chips without using US curbs.

At & nbsp, @ jeffpao3 is Jeff Pao’s Twitter account.