U.S. semiconductor giant Qualcomm Inc. said it has started selling products to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., after the Chinese telecom-gear maker’s inclusion in a U.S. government blacklist led to sales being suspended.
Qualcomm is also working on solutions that will allow sales to continue in future, CEO Steve Mollenkopf told Caixin at the company’s headquarters on Monday. Mollenkopf didn’t say what kind of products Qualcomm is currently selling to Huawei.
Since Huawei was placed on the backlist in May, U.S. businesses require a government license to sell products or provide services to the Chinese company. The U.S. has argued that Huawei poses a national security threat due to its alleged close relations with the Chinese government.
Since May, the U.S. Commerce Department has received more than 130 applications for a license, Reuters reported in August, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Qualcomm has not specifically announced whether or not it has received a license.
The Semiconductor Industry Association — a trade association of which Qualcomm is a member — sent a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, urging the White House to make good on its promise to ease the ban on sales, Bloomberg reported this month.
The U.S. government will “look favorably” on Huawei suppliers that sell parts that are “not central” to U.S. national security, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in June.
Xilinx Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of programmable chips, said in July that it had resumed some sales to Huawei.
However many of Huawei’s major U.S. businesses partners have yet to announce the resumption of sales, including Alphabet Inc.’s Google, whose Android operating system is used by Huawei’s smartphones. Last week, Huawei launched its new Mate 30 series smartphone, which currently cannot use licensed Google services or apps, such as Google Maps, Gmail and the Google Play app store.
China is one of Qualcomm’s most important markets, where its clients include leading smartphone-makers such Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.
Contact reporter Mo Yelin (yelinmo@caixin.com)
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