A sudden cold war in technology has put Chinese technology companies in an unprecedented predicament. Ruthlessly cut off from the supply chain and embargoed the most advanced chips and technologies, Huawei, the once-shining tech giant, instantly fell to the bottom. In the face of the dilemma, some people call for compromise and bow their heads, and some people think that independent research and development should be abandoned. But Huawei has chosen a different path – self-reliance and technological independence.
Once upon a time, on the battlefield of smartphones, Huawei could be described as dominant. With outstanding product quality and leading technical strength, Huawei has become the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer. However, a ban in May 2019 completely changed Huawei's fortunes.
At that time, the U.S. government added Huawei to the "Entity List" for export control on national security grounds, prohibiting U.S. companies from selling components to Huawei. The ban is tantamount to killing Huawei's mobile phone business, which has relied on supplies from American chipmakers for years. Huawei is facing the crisis of being completely cut off.
In the face of heavy repression, where is the way forward? At one time, there were voices calling for Huawei to use its soft power to strive for the resumption of supply, even if it was to temporarily slow down the pace of independent research and development. After all, the top priority is to keep the existing mobile phone business and hold on to market share. However, Huawei did not choose that shortcut.
"The road is to come out by yourself, and the key is to see if you can really solve the chip problem. In the face of doubts, Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei was resolute. If you don't achieve your goal, you won't give up, this is the spirit of Huawei.
In September 2019, Huawei released its first self-developed flagship SoC chip, the Kirin 990 5G, under the high expectations. This chip not only achieved 5G communication, but also had the same performance as Qualcomm's flagship products at the time. Its advent has shown Huawei's independent and controllable strength to the outside world.
But this is far from enough, a good chip alone cannot completely solve the dilemma of being sanctioned. A protracted "chip war" followed.
Due to the technological blockade of the United States, Huawei was forced to start the process of independent chip research and development in great difficulty. This means that Huawei not only needs to master the design capabilities of chips, but also needs to achieve breakthroughs in the wafer foundry process. Fortunately, Huawei had some layouts before that. However, there is still a long way to go to achieve full autonomy and control.
At the same time, Huawei is also accelerating its independent innovation in infrastructure software. Especially when it comes to HarmonyOS systems and computing products, Huawei spends a lot of resources. Huawei has built a complete ecosystem from chips to operating systems, laying the foundation for getting rid of external sanctions.
In 2022, Huawei has finally ushered in a decisive moment of autonomy and control. This year, Huawei successively launched the Kirin 9000 series chips with 7nm process, as well as the mobile phone product line based on the HarmonyOS system. What's more worth mentioning is that Huawei's long-rumored independent instruction set architecture chip in the industry was also officially unveiled.
After years of arduous exploration, Huawei has finally mastered all core capabilities such as chip design, foundry, and operating system. Since then, no matter what kind of external suppression it has suffered, Huawei has been supported by completely independent and controllable capabilities. The chip war is finally over.
When the dust settles, we look back and see why Huawei is unwilling to bow its head and compromise when it is questioned? There are three reasons:
First, giving up autonomy and controllability is tantamount to giving up all life and death to the seizure of power. As a technology company, not having the initiative to master the core technology means that your future will be completely controlled by others. How can Huawei, such an old and heavy company, be willing to be played by others?
Second, independence and controllability are the only way for the progress of China's science and technology industry. China has the world's second largest economy and the largest consumer market, and it should not lack the ability to innovate independently. As the first company in China to truly master its core technology capabilities, Huawei has set a benchmark with its actions.
Third, independent innovation is the valuable core competitiveness of high-tech companies. The lack of innovation and long-term dependence on external supply mean that we can only passively follow the technology roadmap and chip selection, and will inevitably lose our dominant position in the fierce market competition.
There is no doubt that Huawei has chosen the most correct path and has no regrets. Now, it has completely shaken off the haze of sanctions, and the results of independent and controllable will continue to be amplified. In the future, whether it is smartphones, in-vehicle computing, cloud servers, artificial intelligence, or 6G/7G communications, Huawei will continue to make efforts in various fields with the sharp knife of independent innovation.
Perhaps, in the future, Huawei will no longer be just a mobile phone company, but will become a technological giant that leads China's scientific and technological progress and affects the process of human civilization. And the days and nights that are pregnant with flash chips and operating systems will surely become an important mark of Huawei's growth.
Huawei's experience shows that there is no end to independent innovation, and there is no end to technological independence. Only by persevering in independent innovation can Chinese technology companies truly assert themselves on the world's scientific and technological map.