It’s hard to see this as mere coincidence. Last Thursday, after two years of silence, Huawei finally acknowledged the existence of its new Ascend chips, designed for generative artificial intelligence. The company even laid out a roadmap, pledging to double their power every year.
The announcement came just days after Beijing ordered Chinese companies to stop using Nvidia’s graphics cards, long seen as essential for training and running AI models. Officially justified by “security concerns,” the ban is also a clear signal: China wants to boost homegrown alternatives from Huawei, Alibaba, and Baidu, which are now deemed powerful enough to take over. “Competition is undeniably here and only getting stronger,” admits Nvidia.
A twist of irony
Beijing’s move marks a stunning reversal in the chip war. For years, Washington held the upper hand, tightening export rules and deciding which advanced semiconductors Chinese firms could access. Now Beijing is flipping the script. Instead of pleading …
