Tech war: Malaysia walks back from AI project with Huawei as tech giant denies chip exports
The Malaysian government has walked back from an
artificial intelligence (AI) project that involved the use of Huawei Technologies' equipment, as the Chinese tech giant denied exporting its Ascend chips to the Southeast Asian country, highlighting sensitivity on both sides amid US efforts to block the use of Huawei AI chips.
On Monday, Malaysia launched its large computing project dubbed the Strategic Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure. The project marked the first deployment of Huawei's chips and servers outside China, Malaysia's Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching was quoted as saying to state news agency Bernama.
The report did not specify which Huawei chips and servers would be used in Malaysia. In a subsequent update on Tuesday, references to Huawei were scrubbed from the report.
The Malaysian Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry said in a statement on Wednesday that the AI infrastructure initiative involving Huawei was 'not developed, endorsed, or coordinated by the government of Malaysia', keeping its distance from the deal.
The Malaysian AI project grabbed attention amid intensifying tech rivalry between Beijing and Washington. The US Department of Commerce recently issued guidelines that threatened regulatory action against anyone using Huawei Ascend chips in any part of the world, based on the argument that the chips violate US export control rules.
A man speaks on the phone near a Huawei logo during a product launch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 18, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE
The Chinese government hit back at the move, with the Ministry of Commerce issuing a statement on Wednesday saying that it would target those enforcing the US sanctions on Huawei AI chips with China's own anti-sanction law.
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