US export controls on AI chips were meant to slow China. They funded Huawei’s silicon, CANN’s software, and a parallel AI ecosystem.
Washington Tried to Starve China’s AI. It Fed It.


US export controls on AI chips were meant to slow China. They funded Huawei’s silicon, CANN’s software, and a parallel AI ecosystem.

The 2026 AI buildout carries six simultaneous contradictions: capability shipped, delivery slipping, infrastructure borrowed, policy self-inflicted.