【By Observer News, Qi Qian】

On December 8th local time, U.S. President Trump announced that he would allow NVIDIA to export its H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China.

"I have informed the Chinese side that the United States will allow NVIDIA to export its H200 chips to Chinese and other country customers," Trump said on his self-created social media platform "Truth Social" on the same day, "and the Chinese side responded positively."

Trump also said that this decision comes with conditions, including safeguarding the so-called U.S. national security, and the U.S. government will receive a 25% share. He said that the U.S. Department of Commerce is finalizing the details of the agreement, and the same approach will apply to other AI chip companies such as AMD and Intel.

He wrote: "This policy will support American jobs, strengthen American manufacturing, and benefit American taxpayers... We will protect national security, create American jobs, and maintain America's leading position in the AI field."

Trump also stated that NVIDIA's latest Blackwell chip and the upcoming Rubin chip are not on the approved list.

Photo from the meeting between Trump and Huang Renxun at the White House

The UK's Financial Times reported that this decision marks a sharp contrast to the approach of the Biden administration, which had imposed comprehensive export controls on chip-related technologies, attempting to hinder China's semiconductor modernization process.

Later that day, an NVIDIA spokesperson said that this move was "a very beneficial and well-considered balance for the United States." The spokesperson pointed out: "We appreciate Trump's decision to allow the U.S. chip industry to compete, supporting high-paying jobs and manufacturing development in the United States."

American network NBC believes that Trump's latest announcement effectively ended the ban on U.S. companies selling AI chips to China. The report noted that within minutes after the announcement, NVIDIA's stock rose nearly 3% in after-hours trading.

An insider told Reuters that U.S. government officials considered this move as a compromise between exporting the latest Blackwell chips to China and completely blocking U.S. chip exports to China. U.S. hawkish figures have been exaggerating the "Chinese threat" and advocated for strict control over AI chip exports to China. However, representatives of U.S. tech companies have been lobbying at the White House, opposing linking chips to "national security."

According to the information, the H200 chip has more high-bandwidth memory than its predecessor H100, enabling it to process data faster. According to a report by the U.S. think tank the Progressive Policy Institute, the performance of the H200 is almost six times that of the H20. The report also states that exporting this chip would allow Chinese AI laboratories to build supercomputers with performance close to the top AI supercomputers in the United States, albeit at a higher cost.

Image of NVIDIA H200 chip, NVIDIA official website

"This decision is a major victory for NVIDIA CEO Huang Renxun," mentioned the New York Times, stating that the government's policy shift stems from the lobbying activities of corporate representatives like Huang Renxun. They believe that increasing NVIDIA's sales to China will make Chinese companies dependent on its technology, thereby giving it more funds for R&D of next-generation chips.

Last week, Trump met with Huang Renxun at the White House. Trump later praised him, saying, "Huang Renxun did an excellent job."

The report mentioned that Trump required part of the chip revenue to be given to the U.S. government, but experts point out that this proposal may violate U.S. law. Given that U.S. law prohibits collecting fees for export licenses, government lawyers have been studying how to implement this policy. In October this year, Huang Renxun had previously stated at a press conference that government officials were working on a new policy to legally collect a share.

The New York Times believes that this move also represents a policy shift for Trump, as the White House initially promised to restrict the sale of AI chips to China.

From the Biden administration to the Trump administration, the U.S. has implemented a series of chip export restrictions to contain and suppress China's technological development, and these measures have been continuously tightened. NVIDIA's AI chips have been the focus of these restrictions. To this end, NVIDIA has sought to sell a "downgraded version" of the H20 chip to China.

NVIDIA has been eager to enter the Chinese market, but recently found itself in a difficult situation. According to a report by Bloomberg on December 3rd, members of Congress excluded a clause that might have limited NVIDIA's sale of advanced AI chips to China in the defense bill. But the next day, there were reports that members of Congress would introduce a new bill to prevent NVIDIA from selling advanced AI chips to China.

"But now the question is, will China still pay for NVIDIA chips?" The New York Times reported, stating that the H20 chip is a specially designed "downgraded" version for the Chinese market and is currently the most advanced model approved for export by Washington. However, more and more Chinese buyers are unwilling to pay for it. Huang Renxun recently also admitted that he is unsure whether China will accept the H200.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government had banned NVIDIA from exporting the H20 chip to China until NVIDIA agreed to pay 15% of its sales in China to the U.S. government, after which the export license for the chip was restored.

However, NVIDIA faces security vulnerabilities and monopoly risks in China. In July this year, Chinese authorities held talks with NVIDIA, requesting it to explain and submit relevant proof materials regarding the security risks of backdoors in the H20 computing chips sold to China. In September, Chinese regulatory authorities issued a statement that NVIDIA violated anti-monopoly laws and decided to conduct further investigations.

Chinese enterprises are actively developing domestic AI chips to replace NVIDIA's products, seizing the market share that NVIDIA once dominated. For example, Huawei announced the product iteration roadmap for its Ascend AI chips over the next three years in September. Internet giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, and ByteDance have also increased their investment in chip R&D and design, striving to gain greater autonomy and controllability in the supply chain.

Huang Renxun is deeply anxious about this and has frequently spoken out, warning that China will "win the AI competition" in the future. He recently pointed out again that if U.S. companies allow Chinese competitors like Huawei to capture the market, China will soon seek to export its own AI technology globally.

Previously, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian responded, stating that China has repeatedly expressed its firm position against the U.S.'s malicious blockade and suppression of China's semiconductor industry. The U.S. politicizes, generalizes, and instrumentalizes economic and trade and technological issues, continuously tightening export controls on chips to China, and coercing other countries to suppress China's semiconductor industry. This practice hinders the global development of the semiconductor industry and will ultimately backfire, harming both sides.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7581649807161229834/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.