Beijing Unveils Huawei’s Secret Chip Lab on National TV Before Trump’s Visit
May 12, 2026 – 8:54 pm
Image by: X-SHLIED
TL;DR: Beijing aired footage of Huawei’s secret chip lab on prime-time TV two days before Trump’s state visit, highlighting China’s advancement in semiconductors despite US export controls.
On Friday evening, China Central Television’s most-watched news program, Xinwen Lianbo, broadcast never-before-seen images of the Chip Fundamental Technology Research Laboratory at Huawei’s Lianqiu Lake campus in Shanghai. The segment showed Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei hosting Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang at the facility. While the broadcast didn’t disclose specific developments, the timing sent a clear message to the visiting American delegation, arriving for a three-day state visit starting on Tuesday.
The campus, covering 2,600 acres and costing 1.4 billion dollars, is Huawei’s largest research and development center globally. It houses 104 buildings, an internal railway system, and is expected to accommodate 35,000 researchers working on various technologies.
The chip lab, previously undisclosed to the public, was personally shown by Ren Zhengfei to Ding Xuexiang, who oversees China’s science and technology policy. This visit signified not just an inspection but a significant endorsement from the Chinese government.
Huawei has been on the US trade blacklist since 2019, hindering its access to advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. Despite these controls, Huawei projects AI chip revenue of 12 billion dollars in 2026, with a targeted 1.6 million Ascend dies across its product line this year.