CBN丨“The more open the country, the more it will drive our progress,” said R...

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Here’s what you need to know about China in the past 24 hours

In a recent interview with People’s Daily published on Tuesday, Huawei Technologies' founder, Ren Zhengfei, shared insights on Huawei’s ability to produce advanced chips despite stringent sanctions, acknowledging a technological gap with Western competitors but expressing determination to bridge it.

Ren said Huawei’s Ascend chip, the main rival to Nvidia’s products in China, “still lags behind the US by one generation”. He added that the “US has exaggerated Huawei’s capabilities — we’re not that strong yet”.

However, the firm is finding ways to improve performance. Ren hinted the company could “compensate” for poorer performance through cluster computing, which involves linking multiple chips to boost AI server power.

“Using clustering and stacking, our computing results are comparable to the world’s best,” he said.

The public comments are the first from Ren or Huawei about the firm's advanced chip manufacturing efforts. Despite external blockades and suppression, Ren said that he never dwell on difficulties, just take action and move forward step by step.

China has opportunities in low- and mid-range chips, with dozens or even hundreds of chip companies working hard, Ren said, adding that China will have hundreds or thousands of operating systems in the future, supporting progress in Chinese industry, agriculture, healthcare, and more.

Ren also shared his thoughts on China’s basic research, saying that the country must attach importance to theoretical research, especially basic theoretical research, as purchasing foreign products is expensive because the price includes their investment in basic research.

“Basic research takes more than five to 10 years; it generally requires 10 years, 20 years, or even longer. If we do not engage in basic research, it is akin to having no roots,” Ren was quoted as saying in the interview.

Ren revealed that Huawei invests 180 billion yuan in research annually and sees promise in compound chips - or chips made from multiple elements.

When asked about his view on openness and development, Ren said, “The more open the country becomes, the more it will drive our progress. Under the leadership of the Party, with unified administration and clear policies, it is possible to gradually form a unified national market. This will surely break through all blockades and achieve great rejuvenation.”

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Asia-Pacific highlights

ASEAN continued to be Guangdong's largest trading partner, serving as a key driver for the province's foreign trade growth, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Guangdong Committee on Tuesday. In 2024, Guangdong's total import-export volume with the 10-member bloc reached 1.45 trillion yuan, up 8 percent year on year. From January to April this year, Guangdong's trade volume with ASEAN amounted to 488.57 billion yuan, growing by 7.5 percent compared with the same period last year.

China Southern Airlines and Vietnam Airlines will launch a joint venture on August 1, 2025, marking the first partnership of its kind between carriers from China and Vietnam. Approved by both governments, the agreement aims to streamline air travel and expand route networks between the two countries.

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