Statement released by Volkswagen Group China regarding intellectual property dispute with Ling Ming Photonic.

Suteng Juchuang issued a statement, stating that we have paid attention to the statement released by Lingming Photon, and hereby make the following clarification on the relevant facts and positions: The core of this dispute is the lawsuit we have filed against Lingming Photon for alleged infringement of our technical secrets. The protection of technical secrets is related to business integrity and legal bottom line, and its nature is serious. Those who are suspected of infringement may be held liable for legal consequences, including criminal responsibility. Lingming Photon has not made a substantive response to this core accusation, but has chosen to separately file a patent lawsuit. This approach not only blurs the focus of the dispute and the substantive legal risks, but also could put them in a passive position in the legal process. Regarding the core of this case of technical secret infringement, we have completed a thorough investigation and professional evidence collection. Through a systematic review of internal research and development documents, combined with technical analysis and comparative analysis of Lingming Photon's related chip products, we have formed a complete chain of evidence, identifying a series of key information points related to our SoC chip core technology, as well as allegations of Lingming Photon employees obtaining technical secrets from us. Based on this, we have clearly asserted in the lawsuit that Lingming Photon is suspected of inappropriate use of our technical secrets.