Beijing steers scarce chips toward Huawei as U.S. export curbs tightenChina has reportedly ordered Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) to prioritise Huawei’s access to scarce advanced chips, tightening control over limited production amid a worsening shortage triggered by U.S. export bans.The move has intensified competition for domestic capacity, with AI startups delaying projects and Huawei resorting to power-hungry systems built from thousands of lower-grade chips to train models.In Washington, policymakers remain split over whether to toughen or relax chip export rules. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has urged approval to sell a restricted “Blackwell” chip to China, arguing the country hosts half of the world’s AI developers. U.S. officials counter that export controls are working, citing estimates that China’s high-end chip output remains a fraction of U.S. production.Despite poor yields at SMIC, Huawei’s chipmaking drive is accelerating, with analysts forecasting more than 800,000 Ascend processors produced this year and double that next year—evidence that U.S. curbs are slowing but not stopping Beijing’s AI ambitions. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.