US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo has expressed concern about Huawei's recent advances. Specifically, the release of the Kirin 9000s SoC.

Raimondo says the report that the Chinese firm has developed advanced chips is "incredibly troubling." She also notes that her agency needs more tools to enforce export controls.

We need different tools. We need additional enforcement resources. We are as tough as we need to be, but we need more resources

That said, Raimondo previously told the House of Representatives that she sees no evidence that China can produce advanced 7-nanometer chips on a large scale. Recall that recently there were reports that the Kirin 9000s are allegedly produced at 14nm, but with a number of improvements.

What is interesting, against the backdrop of these claims, the US Secretary of Commerce declined to comment on the progress of the Department's investigation into the very SoC Kirin 9000s.

Separately, Raimondo said she was proud of the recent fine her department imposed on Seagate for trading with Huawei without the necessary permits. As a reminder, US-based Seagate was fined $300 million, the largest fine ever imposed on an American company by the US Department of Commerce.