Huawei cancels launch of new MateBook laptop, citing US trade bans



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A Huawei logo in Beijing.
Photo: Ng Han Guan (AP)

Chinese tech giant Huawei has canceled the planned launch of a new MateBook laptop at CES Asia 2019 in Shanghai this week due to the significant US sanction against the company. reported Wednesday Ars Technica.

The announcement of the cancellation was first transmitted via the Information Tuesday. According to CNBC, Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Division, confirmed that because of his listing on the US entity list, Huawei "can not provide the PC". Yu added that the question was "unfortunate" and that the future launch date "depends on the The list of entities will be there." As noted in the information, laptops only represent that. a small portion of about half of the $ 107 billion in Huawei's business revenue generated by its consumer electronics business, but Huawei expected its computer business become profitable in 2019.

The Trump administration passed a decree law last month claiming a national security emergency preventing US companies from using technologies designed by companies posing a significant security risk. Huawei was a clear target of the order. Shortly after, the Commerce Department added Huawei and 70 subsidiaries to the so-called entities list. The list severely limits Huawei's business with the states; it can no longer buy American technology without the approval of the United States, which limits not only parts and components, but also any product deemed to have been manufactured with a significant US contribution, such as software or technology.

However, the Commerce Department also left open a 90-day window in which Huawei has a "temporary general license" allowing it to do business with US companies "required for network maintenance and maintenance and existing equipment, currently fully operational, including updates and patches, subject to legally binding contracts and agreements. "It expires on August 19.

The drama on Huawei has become a centerpiece of the ongoing trade war between the United States and China, which has recently escalated to the point that the New York Times recently reported that there were "more and more "evidence" of a slowdown in economic growth in the world. The United States has accused Huawei of commercial theft and fraud and has requested the extradition of one of its top executives over allegations of bank fraud and sanctions violations by Iran. US intelligence agencies have issued warnings (though little evidence has been made public) that the project was secretly funded and that its telecommunication equipment could be disrupted by Chinese security and intelligence services.

Huawei strongly denied any involvement in espionage and argued that the US government was simply trying to strengthen the company because it was beating competition in the 5G race. He is also suing the US government, claiming that he has been unfairly treated by the federal government for receiving preferential treatment. It is also possible that Trump administration attack in Huawei, one of the jewels of the Chinese technology industry, more in order to gain weight in the trade war – well that in this case, it can turn against it, China itself threatening retaliation. measures against American companies.

Huawei buys about $ 20 billion in semiconductors each year, according to estimates by Evercore quoted by CNBC, largely from US companies. According to Ars Technica, Intel and ARM have recently taken steps to stand out from Huawei. Qualcomm and Broadcom, leading chip vendors, did the same.

Huawei's smartphone business is designing its own processors and does not seem to be affected yet, said CNBC, but it could lose access to Google's Android operating system after its 90-day license expires days, and uses American technology elsewhere in its phones. (Google warned that requiring Huawei to quickly design and deploy a simplified version of Android based on its open source version posed its own security risks.)

Ars Technica also published an article in the Chinese newspaper Times Global, which disputed the news of the delay of MateBook.

"Huawei will launch a new notebook product in July, with different models and configurations compared to previous series such as MateBook and HonorBook, a source close to the record confirmed by the Global Times," writes the newspaper. "… The new laptop will be equipped with the Windows operating system, the source said, contrary to rumors that Microsoft would stop cooperating with Huawei."

The source of the Global Times "refuted reports that Huawei would have stopped the production of laptops because of the export controls imposed by the Trump administration in the context of the growing trade war," he writes. , adding that "industry leaders" had called his persistence "inspiring."

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