Beijing [China], August 11: China is reportedly looking to the US to ease export restrictions on chips vital for artificial intelligence (AI) as part of a trade deal between the two countries.
The Financial Times on August 10 quoted sources saying that China wants the US to ease restrictions on AI chip exports so that a bilateral trade agreement can be signed.
The newspaper said Chinese officials have told experts in Washington that Beijing wants the Trump administration to ease export restrictions on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.
The White House and China have not commented on this information.
HBM chips, which help speed up AI tasks that require big data processing, have received particular attention from investors because they are often used in conjunction with AI graphics processors, especially those from Nvidia , according to Reuters.
The Financial Times said China was concerned because US HBM controls hindered the ability of companies like Huawei to develop their own AI chips .
Successive US administrations have restricted the export of advanced chips to China for years. While this has affected the ability of US companies to fully meet the booming demand from China - one of the world's largest semiconductor markets - China remains an important source of revenue for US chipmakers.
China and the United States are in a tariff suspension period while they negotiate a trade deal. This period is scheduled to end on August 12.
In another development, the WeChat account Yuyuan Tantian, believed to be affiliated with China Central Television (CCTV), posted an article on August 10 claiming that Nvidia's H20 chip poses security concerns for China.
According to Reuters, the above account said that the H20 chip is not technologically advanced and is not environmentally friendly, and is not safe for consumers because it has a hardware "backdoor" that allows remote access or control.The H20 is an AI chip developed by Nvidia for the Chinese market, after the US restricted exports of other advanced AI chips by the end of 2023. In April, the US government banned the sale of this chip amid trade tensions with China but then lifted the ban in July.Nvidia has not commented on the new post, but has previously asserted that the company's products do not have "backdoors" that could allow remote access
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
