Tech giant Huawei's chips are still "lagging behind the United States by one generation," Chinese state media quoted its founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei as saying in a rare interview on Tuesday.
Last month, Washington unveiled fresh guidelines warning firms that using Chinese-made high-tech AI semiconductors, specifically Huawei's Ascend chips, would put them at risk of violating U.S. export controls.
The Shenzhen-based company has been at the center of an intense standoff between the economic supergiants after Washington warned its equipment could be used for espionage by Beijing, an allegation Huawei denies.
Speaking to the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, 80-year-old Ren insisted the U.S. had "exaggerated" Huawei's achievements.
Tougher controls in recent years have prevented U.S. chip giant Nvidia, one of Huawei's rivals, from selling certain AI semiconductors – widely regarded as the most advanced in the world – to Chinese firms.
As a result, it is now facing tougher competition from local players in the crucial market, including Huawei.
Nvidia's chief executive, Jensen Huang, told reporters last month that Chinese companies "are very talented and very determined, and the export control gave them the spirit, energy and government support to accelerate their development."
But Ren said Huawei was "not that great yet," according to the article published on the newspaper's front page on Tuesday.
"Many companies in China are making chips, and quite a few are doing well – Huawei is just one of them," he added.
When asked about "external blockades and suppression" – a veiled reference to U.S. export restrictions on Beijing – Ren said he had "never thought about it."
"Don't dwell on the difficulties, just get the job done and move forward step by step," he added.
Sanctions since 2019 have curtailed the firm's access to U.S.-made components and technologies, forcing it to diversify its growth strategy.
China has accused the U.S. of "bullying" and "abusing export controls to suppress and contain" the country's firms.
