The Malaysian government has walked back from an artificial intelligence (AI) project that involved the use of Huawei Technologies’ equipment, as the Chinese tech giant denied exporting its Ascend chips to the Southeast Asian country, highlighting sensitivity on both sides amid US efforts to block the use of Huawei AI chips.

Malaysia's government did not develop, coordinate or endorse an artificial intelligence project involving a local company and Huawei Technologies, its trade ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Malaysia abruptly reversed its Huawei-backed AI chip initiative after US scrutiny, exposing the delicate balance Southeast Asian nations face in the US-China tech war. Read more at straitstimes.com.