Huawei has largely shaken off dependence on US technology

Huawei has largely freed itself from reliance on US technology, according to Yu Chengdong, the company's executive director and chairman of its terminal business group.

Yu said at a recent international media roundtable that Huawei has overcome immense difficulties since 2019 to survive US sanctions. Working with domestic partners, the company built its own advanced chips, operating system HarmonyOS, and foundational software tools, gradually establishing a self-sufficient supply chain. In 2023, Huawei resumed domestic production of smartphone chips.

"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.

The declaration came alongside the launch of Huawei's Mate 90 series and full-scenario products on the first day of China's National Day holiday.

The Mate 90 lineup runs on HarmonyOS 7 and Huawei's Kirin chips, which are designed under "Tau Scaling Law" — a theoretical framework first proposed by He Tingbo, president of Huawei's semiconductor business, in May.

The Mate 90 Pro Max boasts a 31 percent performance boost over its predecessor through software-hardware synergy. The three models carry the Kirin 9030, 9035, and 9050 Pro chips, respectively, with the Kirin 9035 delivering a 51 percent NPU improvement over the 9030.

Yu also announced that devices running HarmonyOS 6 and 7 have surpassed 90 million units, with more than 450,000 applications and services available.

Huawei revealed it has invested over 1.8 trillion yuan in R&D between 2007 and the end of 2025, raising its annual R&D reinvestment rate from roughly 10 percent to over 20 percent in recent years.