China condemns US chip export curbs in escalating tech clash
China sharply criticizes the USA for tightening export controls on chips. Beijing responds to Trump's allegations of breaking the trade agreement, while American restrictions impact Nvidia and other semiconductor companies.
Beijing reacted strongly to Washington's new restrictions on semiconductor exports, describing them as an abuse. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the United States, emphasized in an interview with NBC News that China "has repeatedly expressed concerns" about the actions of the United States.
The immediate cause of the tensions is Donald Trump's accusations that China violated the terms of the preliminary trade agreement.
According to CNBC, the USA previously banned its companies from using AI chips from Huawei, and the latest restrictions have affected producers such as Nvidia, Synopsys, and Cadence. The impact is particularly severe for Nvidia, which estimates it could lose up to 6 billion Canadian dollars this quarter due to the ban on selling H20 chips to China.
The U.S. has based its policy on the assumption that China cannot make AI chips. Assumption was always questionable. Now it’s clearly wrong, assessed Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, adding that the company is stuck with 6 billion CAD of unsold inventory.
The balance in USA-China relations is fragile
The agreement reached on May 12 between the United States and China was intended to suspend tariffs for 90 days. However, according to commentators, the escalation of technological restrictions may once again disrupt the fragile balance.
Washington is soon to announce a new, simplified export rule, replacing the earlier "AI diffusion rule" introduced by the Biden administration.
