China bans TechInsights for exposing Huawei trade secrets

China has placed TechInsights, a Canadian company known for taking apart electronics to see what’s inside, on its list of banned entities. The move blocks the research firm from working with any organizations or people in China after it spent two years revealing details about Huawei Technologies Co.’s computer chips.

The Ministry of Commerce announced the ban on Thursday. TechInsights joins several other companies, including some drone makers, that China has now prohibited from doing business within its borders. The Canadian firm has made a name for itself by carefully examining electronic devices and identifying all the parts used to build them.

Since 2023, TechInsights has been uncovering information that Huawei would rather have kept secret. The company claimed that despite years of trying to build everything themselves, Huawei still depends on chips from other countries to make its products work.

Two years back, TechInsights worked with Bloomberg on a major investigation. They found that Huawei had created a smartphone processor made entirely in China that could match the performance of chips from Qualcomm Inc. and Apple Inc.

The research firm also found chips from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. inside Huawei devices, even though these chips were supposed to be restricted. This discovery helped explain how Huawei was getting around American sanctions by using intermediaries to obtain the parts they needed.

Just last week, TechInsights reported finding critical components from TSMC, Samsung Electronics Co., and SK Hynix Inc. in Huawei’s newest and most powerful artificial intelligence chips.

China also targeted defense giant

The Chinese ministry explained its decision in a separate statement. It said foreign companies like Dedrone by Axon and TechInsights ignored China’s strong objections and worked on military-related technical projects with Taiwan. The ministry also accused them of making harmful statements about China and helping foreign governments punish Chinese companies.

China’s blacklist includes not only the main company but also its operations in Japan, Korea, and Europe, along with its subsidiary called Strategy Analytics.

Another major addition to the banned list is BAE Systems Plc., a London-based company that has become important in Europe’s defense industry upgrades following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The recent teardown work by TechInsights revealed that Huawei used advanced parts from major Asian technology companies in its Ascend AI processors. The Ottawa-based researchers examined multiple samples of Huawei’s third-generation Ascend 910C chips and found components from three different suppliers.

According to their investigation, TSMC manufactured the main dies used in the Huawei accelerators. The team also discovered an older type of high-bandwidth memory called HBM2E, which was made by both Samsung and SK Hynix. These components from the two manufacturers appeared in two separate samples of the Ascend 910C.

Huawei faces years of U.S. pressure

The Shenzhen-based company has been a focus of American officials since Donald Trump’s first presidency. That’s when Washington started a campaign to limit China’s ability to develop advanced semiconductors.

The United States put Huawei on its Entity List, making it harder for the Chinese firm to get technology from American companies.

America’s broader strategy has included blocking exports of AI chips, the high-bandwidth memory that goes with them, and the tools and parts needed to make both. These policies are designed to stop China from accessing cutting-edge AI systems and to prevent Huawei and other Chinese chipmakers from reaching the capacity to compete with Nvidia Corp. worldwide.

Get up to $30,050 in trading rewards when you join Bybit today