SMIC is stockpiling chips amidst threats of stricter US sanctions

The launch of Huawei's Mate 60 Pro, featuring the 7nm 5G-enabled Kirin 9000S chipset, has surely raised alarms in America, considering just last year, China's SMIC was light years behind the competition. Now, in a recent development, SMIC has reportedly (via Phone Arena) placed big orders for the raw materials of the Kirin 9000S chip possibly in anticipation of stricter US sanctions. The Crux of the issue After the US first implemented trade sanctions on Huawei, the company lost its ability to buy chips from other US companies, including TSMC, the biggest smartphone chip producer. Although the US did allow…