As U.S.-China trade negotiations took place, the Chinese Communist Party's media outlet, the People’s Daily, published an interview with Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei. In the interview, Ren admitted that Huawei's chip technology is still one generation behind the U.S. but stated that the company is actively enhancing chip performance and competitiveness through cluster computing and non-Moore's law technologies.

Ren Zhengfei humbly remarked that Huawei is just one of many chip companies in China, adding that the U.S. has exaggerated Huawei's strengths. He stated, "The U.S. has overstated Huawei's achievements; we are not as significant. We need to work harder to live up to their evaluations." He further emphasized that there’s no need to worry about chip issues, saying, "Our single-chip technology still lags behind the U.S. by a generation, but we can achieve practical results by using mathematics to supplement physics and using cluster computing to complement single chips."

Ren revealed that Huawei invests approximately 180 billion yuan (around $25 billion) each year in R&D, with about one-third dedicated to theoretical research. He stressed, "Without theory, there won't be technological breakthroughs; we will not catch up to the U.S." Furthermore, Ren expressed confidence in China's chip industry, stating, "Dozens or even hundreds of chip companies in China are working hard, especially in compound semiconductors where opportunities are greater."

Since 2019, the U.S. has implemented a series of export restrictions aimed at curbing China's technological and military advancements, limiting Huawei and other Chinese companies from acquiring high-end chips and the necessary equipment for production. In the AI chip sector, Huawei's Ascend series chips are competing against global leader NVIDIA. However, NVIDIA is restricted from selling its latest AI chips to China due to U.S. bans, ironically providing Huawei with more opportunities in the domestic market. In April, Huawei launched the AI CloudMatrix 384 cluster system, capable of connecting 384 Ascend 910C chips, which analysis indicates surpasses NVIDIA's latest GB200 NVL72 in certain metrics, showcasing Huawei's potential leadership in AI system integration. SemiAnalysis founder Dylan Patel stated that Huawei and China's AI system technology has reached a level that can challenge and potentially surpass NVIDIA, representing rapid advancements in China's AI chip domain.