A staff member prepares a Huawei Mate 60 smartphone at a Huawei store in Chongqing on September 5, 2023. Photo: VCG

Huawei is set to hold an official launch event for the Mate 60 series on September 25. The high-end phone set has generated buzz among Chinese consumers for weeks after an unexpected debut on August 29, with Chinese netizens hailing the phone as representing a significant chip breakthrough.

The day also marks the two-year return of Meng Wanzhou in 2021. Meng, now a rotating chairperson of Huawei, was arbitrarily arrested by Canada in December 2018 under the request of the US government.

Industry observers are anticipating a formal and official detailing of the phone's specs and in particular the chipsets in the phone, which reportedly utilizes the Kirin 9000S chip, featuring either 7nm or 5nm process technology.

On August 29, Huawei unexpectedly announced that  the Mate 60 smartphone series was available for pre-orders, allowing consumers to experience the "most powerful" high-end Mate series ever.

Some netizens said a stronger Huawei returning to the center stage of global tech innovation also serves as "a slap in the face" to the US government's ruthless suppression and attack on the leading Chinese tech company, especially as the planned event date marks two years of Ms Meng's safe return to China.