Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are disputing Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang’s assertion that the government needs to allow sales of its AI chips to China in order to sustain the U.S.’s leadership position in the AI market.
The Trump administration approved the sale of limited numbers of Nvidia H200 chips to China earlier this year. Sales have reportedly been stalled in part by the Chinese government, which has been mulling placing certain restrictions on their importation as part of a broader effort to encourage local companies to buy domestically.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs has advanced a bill that would give Congress 30 days to review and block the sale of advanced chips to nations it considers to be adversaries. It would also halt sales of advanced chips to China until that country provides detailed information on how the chips would impact its military, according to CNBC.
Here’s what U.S. officials, Nvidia, and SA analysts are saying about the planned sale of Nvidia advanced AI chips to China:
U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee:
“The joke here is, Jensen wants us to trust the CCP [Chinese Communist Party],” Mast told CNBC in a recent interview. “Anybody watching this should laugh.”
Mast went on to elaborate about national security concerns over the proposed chip sales.
“We are in an AI arms race, and it’s important that we know where the AI arms dealers are selling,” Mast told CNBC, adding that Congress planned to have “a say” in the matter and Huang “might not like it, but that’s what’s going to take place.”
U.S. Commerce Dept. official David Peters:
Peters told the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this week that while the U.S. government didn’t believe any Nvidia H200 chips had been sold yet to Chinese companies, it was concerned about advanced chips being smuggled into China.
“Yes, there is chip smuggling; it is going on,” said Peters, according to Reuters. “We are actively addressing this problem. It is among our top enforcement priorities.”
Nvidia CFO Collette Kress:
“While small amounts of H200 products for China-based customers were approved by the U.S. government, we have yet to generate any revenue. And we do not know whether any imports will be allowed into China,” Kress said during the company’s Q4 earnings call late Wednesday.
“Our competitors in China, bolstered by recent IPOs, are making progress and have the potential to disrupt the structure of the global AI industry over the long term. To sustain its leadership position in AI compute, America must engage every developer and be the platform of choice for every commercial business, including those in China,” Kress added.
SA analyst The Techie:
“Going forward, whether the U.S. government will soften its stance on H200 exports to allow Nvidia to protect its moat from domestic Chinese rivals like Huawei is one thing I’m watching,” The Techie wrote in an article early Thursday.
“On one hand, Washington wants to restrict China’s access to advanced AI to maintain the lead in the AI race. On the other hand, as Kress pointed out, those very restrictions are creating a vacuum that Chinese domestic competitors are filling with government-subsidized speed. Nvidia has become a victim of its own success,” The Techie added.