Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei is pushing back against U.S. export restrictions—and doing it from the front page of People's Daily. As Washington and Beijing enter another tense round of negotiations over technology and rare earths, Ren made it clear that Huawei isn't standing still. While he admitted the company is still behind the U.S. in single-chip output, Ren pointed to packaging, stacking, and cluster-based computing as viable ways to get comparable AI performance. “Huawei is not that good yet,” he said, but he's betting that an open-source future and hardware workarounds could keep China in the AI race—despite ongoing U.S. pressure.
That pressure may not be holding as firmly as hoped. Nvidia (NVDA, Financial) CEO Jensen Huang recently acknowledged that Chinese AI firms are becoming “formidable” and filling the void left by U.S. tech exits. Huawei, once sidelined by U.S. sanctions, is now making powerful AI chips at SMIC using advanced packaging methods—bundling chips to act like a single, high-performance unit. This isn't just theoretical. Huawei's making real gains in AI and EV software, and its comeback in smartphones has already rattled expectations. Huang's warning suggests that U.S. firms could be watching their lead erode faster than anticipated.
Huawei's story isn't just about bouncing back—it's about adapting fast under pressure. Since landing on the Entity List, the company has retooled its strategy, leaning on engineering innovation to replace what it lost in supply chains. Now, it's signaling that it could keep competing—even if it never gets U.S. chips again. With Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick attending this week's talks, export controls are back in the spotlight. Ren's comments—timed with precision—send a message: China's not waiting for the door to reopen. It's building a side entrance.
