Will Malaysia’s potential Huawei AI deal risk clash with US trade pact?

Malaysia's reported plan to use Huawei's Ascend 910C accelerators in its 2 billion ringgit (US$494 million) sovereign AI project could test export-control commitments signed with Washington last year, analysts say. Bloomberg reported that Malaysia is seriously evaluating Huawei chips, with state-linked Telekom Malaysia selected as key operator, while a separate tender could give US chipmakers like Nvidia a more direct opportunity.

Advertisement Will Malaysia’s potential Huawei AI deal risk clash with US trade pact? Choosing Huawei chips in a US$494 million sovereign AI project could breach export control assurances given to Washington 3-MIN READ3-MIN Listen Malaysia https://www.scmp.com/topics/malaysia?module=inline&pgtype=article ’s reported move to use chips from Chinese tech giant Huawei https://www.scmp.com/topics/huawei?module=inline&pgtype=article in its 2 billion ringgit US$494 million sovereign AI project could test the export-control commitments it signed with Washington last year, analysts say. The move could complicate Kuala Lumpur’s long-running effort to work with both American and Chinese technology firms, particularly as Washington pushes US AI systems across Southeast Asia. Bloomberg reported on Monday that Malaysia was seriously evaluating Huawei’s Ascend 910C accelerators as the backbone of its sovereign AI https://www.scmp.com/topics/artificial-intelligence?module=inline&pgtype=article initiative, citing people familiar with the matter. State-linked Telekom Malaysia was selected as the key operator after a public tender, while officials from Malaysia’s National Security Council are expected to travel to Washington later this month to discuss the issue, the US-based news agency reported. A separate tender that could give US chipmakers such as Nvidia https://www.scmp.com/topics/nvidia?module=inline&pgtype=article a more direct opportunity to compete was also under discussion, the report said. Trade pact clash Advertisement Select Voice Select Speed 1x AI-generated voice