US government is considering further restrictions on chip trades with China

US government is considering further restrictions on chip trades with China

Washington, 6/27/2023

According to the Wall Street Journal, the US government is considering new restrictions on the export of advanced AI computer chips to China. As part of expanded export control measures, the Department of Commerce could stop shipping chips from Nvidia and other manufacturers to Chinese customers without a license as early as July.

The move could affect China’s AI capabilities. There are concerns because use for hacking and weapon development cannot be ruled out.

According to CNBC, Nvidia does not expect any major immediate consequences from the change, as CFO Colette Kress explained. Nvidia had previously developed a lower specification chip, the A800, for the Chinese market in response to previous restrictions. However, under the newly proposed controls, the unlicensed A800 chip would also be subject to export restrictions.

There are also discussions about restricting the rental of cloud services to Chinese AI companies. Rough competition between the US and China in hardware and software technology, as well as cybersecurity concerns and allegations of technology theft, have fueled trade tensions between the nations.