Huawei Technologies’ little-known chip research lab has been thrust into the national spotlight as Beijing flexes its technology muscles ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China later this week.

The Chip Fundamental Technology Research Laboratory was featured for the first time on national television on Friday, when Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei hosted Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang at the firm’s Lianqiu Lake campus in Shanghai, according to footage aired on China Central Television’s prime-time news programme Xinwen Lianbo.

While the segment did not disclose details of the technologies under development, Huawei’s chip progress is being closely watched for signs of China’s ability to overcome Western export restrictions.

Semiconductors remain at the heart of the Sino-US tech war as Trump heads to China for a state visit on May 13, his first trip to the country in his second term. Huawei has emerged as the face of Beijing’s drive for self-sufficiency, representing China’s strongest pushback against tightening US export controls.

In September, Huawei broke its long silence on secretive semiconductor projects by unveiling a three-year road map for its Ascend AI chips, just a day before a scheduled phone call between President Xi Jinping and Trump.

The Ascend series is Huawei’s line of high-performance AI processors, positioned as a domestic alternative to US chip designer Nvidia.