Мир работает на RISC-V: Alibaba о единстве несмотря на US-China войну

On July 8, 2026, at the South China Morning Post (SCMP) conference, Alibaba vice president Qi Xiaoning stated: global cooperation on the RISC-V chip architecture remains robust despite trade tensions between the US and China. Companies from five continents — including the USA, China, India, Brazil, and Europe — continue to jointly develop the open RISC-V standard as a "unified ecosystem," even as national interests push them in different directions.

What is RISC-V and Why Is It Needed

RISC-V (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) is an open instruction set architecture (ISA) on which companies can design their own processors. The key distinction from closed standards like Intel x86 and ARM: RISC-V can be freely used by any organization without licensing fees. This means a developer can design a chip without paying Western corporations.

• Open ISA architecture — an alternative to dominant Intel x86 and ARM
• Free license: companies develop chips without licensing payments
• Community: 1000+ organizations from the USA, Europe, Asia, and Latin America

Cooperation Despite the US-China Trade War

Against the backdrop of American sanctions on the export of advanced processors to China (in effect since 2022) and mutual trade restrictions, joint work on RISC-V appears a rare exception. Engineering teams from different countries continue to exchange knowledge and improve the open standard, as if geopolitical conflicts didn't exist.

"We work as one unified ecosystem" — such a statement from

Alibaba is rarely heard in an era of technological split, when the USA and China are simultaneously partners and rivals.

In most other technology areas — from cloud computing to AI models — companies from different countries either compete independently or completely exclude each other. RISC-V remains an exception.

Why This Matters for AI Infrastructure

Chip architecture is the foundation for training large language models and running neural networks. RISC-V could potentially become the basis for developing alternative AI accelerators, independent from Western standards. Openness allows countries facing export sanctions to develop their own AI computing solutions without dependence on Western suppliers.

For China, this is particularly significant: blocked from access to advanced chips, Beijing can develop its own processors based on RISC-V. This shifts technological competition into new territory: from monopoly on finished chips to competition in developing open standards.

What This Means

Alibaba's statement signals: despite trade barriers and national interests, some technological projects remain truly global. RISC-V is a rare example where competitors and even potential adversaries work toward a common goal: to create an alternative to monopolies in chip design and computing infrastructure.