World working together ‘as one ecosystem’ on RISC-V chip research: executive - South China Morning Post

Despite intensifying U.S.-China technological rivalry, global cooperation on the RISC-V chip architecture remains strong, according to Qi Xiaoning, vice-president at Alibaba. Speaking at the South Chi... Read original →

Beneath RISC-V’s collaborative facade lies a strategic hedge against U.S.-China tech decoupling. Chinese firms like Alibaba are aggressively developing XuanTie cores to bypass Arm/x86 licensing, yet EUV export controls cripple advanced manufacturing, creating a design-manufacturing asymmetry. While the U.S. hasn’t sanctioned RISC-V directly, restrictions on EDA tools and lithography equipment inflate compliance costs for Chinese players. Over the next 12–24 months, RISC-V will scale in AI edge and IoT segments but remain marginal in high-performance computing where Arm dominates. Western giants like Intel engage ostensibly to support openness—but really to influence standards and slow China’s architectural catch-up. Hong Kong, China could emerge as a neutral summit host, yet foundational fabrication will still rely on TSMC (Taiwan, China) and Samsung, exposing persistent supply chain vulnerabilities.