Huawei says it has largely shed its reliance on US tech

Huawei has "basically shaken off its dependence on US technology," consumer business chairman Richard Yu said. He pointed to the company's own Kirin chips, its HarmonyOS operating system and China's domestic supply chain. He also acknowledged that Chinese chipmaking still depends on older lithography tools while the country works on the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines used to make the most advanced chips.chinadaily+2

Yu spoke at an international media roundtable on September 29, ahead of the Mate 90 smartphone launch on October 1, the first day of China's National Day holiday. Huawei posted a summary of the session on October 7.apmultimedianewsroom+2

Homegrown chips and software

"With these chips and HarmonyOS, and relying on China's domestic supply chain, materials, and process nodes, Huawei has basically shaken off its dependence on US technology," Yu said, according to China Daily. He said the company had overcome "immense difficulties" since US sanctions hit in 2019. It went back to making smartphone chips in China in 2023.chinadaily

The Mate 90 lineup runs on HarmonyOS 7. Its three models use the Kirin 9030, 9035 and 9050 Pro chips. The top chip, the 9050 Pro, uses a design Huawei calls LogicFolding. Instead of shrinking transistors, it stacks two layers of logic circuits to shorten the paths signals travel. Huawei says the Mate 90 Pro Max is 31% faster overall than the previous generation. Yu said more of the company's phones will use LogicFolding chips in the future.news.cgtn+3

Yu also said devices running HarmonyOS 6 and 7 have passed 90 million units, with more than 450,000 apps and services available. Huawei said it spent more than 1.8 trillion yuan on research and development from 2007 through the end of 2025.chinadaily

Lithography limits remain

Yu was open about what Huawei still lacks. "EUV tools are certainly key to manufacturing advanced chips. China is currently working on these tools, but right now we're still relying on DUV domestically," he said, referring to older deep ultraviolet machines. He called LogicFolding "just an approach we adopt to improve our capabilities when our access to certain technology is restricted".huaweicentral+1

Yu told Reuters that supply of advanced chips is still tight. "Advanced semiconductor capacity remains very limited in China, and Huawei's Ascend AI chips also draw on that same capacity," he said. CGTN noted that LogicFolding uses more silicon per chip than a standard flat design, and that stacking layers adds manufacturing steps that lower yields. Both put more pressure on that limited capacity.investing+1

The Mate 90 follows the Mate 80 series, launched in November 2025. Huawei has been on the US Commerce Department's Entity List since 2019, which cut it off from American chipmaking tools and from Google's Android services. According to Huawei Central, US authorities are still tightening export controls on chip technology. A global shortage of memory chips, driven by AI demand, is also raising costs for the company.huaweicentral+2