Secretive Chinese chip startup may help Huawei circumvent US sanctions

When the US government blacklisted Huawei Technologies Co. as a national security threat, it cut the Chinese company off from buying American semiconductors and other critical technologies. Now Huawei may have a path around those restrictions. 

The Chinese technology giant is providing support to a startup in its hometown of Shenzhen that has ordered chipmaking equipment -- including from foreign suppliers -- for a semiconductor manufacturing plant, according to people familiar with the matter. The fledgling firm, Pengxinwei IC Manufacturing Co., is run by a former Huawei executive and is constructing facilities close to Huawei headquarters, according to public records