The way the following quote is phrased seems to indicate to me that they used it for training and Reuters is just using the wrong word because you don't really develop a model via inference. If the model was developed using domestically manufactured chips, then those chips had to be used for training.

"The latest model was developed using domestically manufactured chips for inference, including Huawei's flagship Ascend chip and products from leading industry players such as Moore Threads, Cambricon and Kunlunxin, according to the statement.

Beijing is keen to showcase progress in domestic chip self-sufficiency efforts through advances in frontier AI models, encouraging domestic firms to rely on less advanced Chinese chips for training and inference as the U.S. tightens export curbs on high-end semiconductors."