【Text by Observer Net, Xiong Chaoran】Just as there is a "left-right confrontation" in the domestic political arena of China, a "mutual struggle between the left and right" is also taking place in the field of chip technology in the United States. Some people have only now realized that no matter how the U.S. tries to block and suppress, even "both sides", it cannot stop the strong momentum of China's technological advancement.
On September 18 local time, David Sacks, the White House official in charge of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency affairs, posted on the social media platform X, calling for the U.S. to relax export controls on AI chips sold by NVIDIA to China. He wrote that recent developments show that China "does not urgently need our chips," and that Chinese tech giant Huawei is narrowing the gap with NVIDIA.
"It's time for Washington to update its understanding of export controls," he said: "U.S. chip companies must be allowed to sell U.S. technology abroad, although this must meet 'security requirements,' otherwise we will fall behind in the AI competition with China."
The Wall Street Journal reported that day, noting that Sachs, known as the "White House AI czar," and his allies have become a faction with differing views, believing that China's manufacturing capabilities are improving faster than many industry analysts realize, and that restricting chip exports only benefits Huawei and other Chinese enterprises, which can enhance their own strength domestically and bring technology to other countries.
Meanwhile, Sriram Krishnan, the White House senior policy advisor for artificial intelligence and an Indian-American internet entrepreneur, who is closely associated with Sachs, stated at an AI summit (AI+ DC Summit) hosted by Axios News on September 17 local time: "If the policies advocated are the same as what Huawei hopes we do, I might have some doubts about them."
On September 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C., U.S., David Sacks, special advisor to the White House on artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, delivered a speech during a meeting of the White House Artificial Intelligence Education Working Group. Visual China
In fact, recently, from planning to invest in Intel, to allowing NVIDIA and other U.S. companies to export chip products to China after paying a "15% rebate", the Trump administration's involvement in the chip sector has been "exposed in a bad light".
On September 18 local time, the chip giant NVIDIA announced on its official website that it would invest $5 billion to acquire shares in U.S. chip manufacturer Intel, and jointly develop chips for personal computers and data centers. Reuters reported that after the transaction, NVIDIA would become one of the largest shareholders of Intel, which is struggling to turn around its losses in recent years, offering a new opportunity.
The Washington Post cited some analysts as saying that NVIDIA's collaboration with its lagging competitor Intel is the latest move by the world's highest-valued company to "charm" the White House.
The report mentioned that from the Biden administration's export controls to curb China's AI development, to Trump's subsequent tightening of the policy upon returning to the White House, NVIDIA's business has become a focal point of geopolitical tensions. However, under the strong lobbying of NVIDIA and the advice of officials like Sachs, Trump seems to have changed his stance — in mid-July this year, NVIDIA's founder and CEO Huang Renxun announced in China that the U.S. had approved the export of NVIDIA's H20 chips to China.
Senior Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the White House, Sriram Krishnan (left), Axios News
The Washington Post believes that Sachs' latest statement on September 18 local time indicates that NVIDIA has made progress in convincing government officials to accept its viewpoint, that lifting restrictions on the overseas sales of U.S. chips would strengthen the U.S. position in the AI competition with China, and such a policy shift could bring NVIDIA tens of billions of dollars in new revenue annually.
However, the Wall Street Journal pointed out from another angle that Huang Renxun of NVIDIA is trying to please both China and the United States, but it is a tricky "tightrope walk."
Ryan Fedasiuk, a former advisor to the Biden administration on China affairs and a researcher at the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute, said that the deal with Intel would obviously greatly help NVIDIA gain the favor of the Trump administration.
"I don't envy NVIDIA's situation," Fedasiuk said: "It proves that the company's attempt to serve so many interests is difficult to maintain."
The Wall Street Journal noted that although NVIDIA has won "praise" in the United States, the company is facing increasing difficulties.
On July 31, to protect the cybersecurity and data security of Chinese users, China questioned NVIDIA and required it to explain and submit relevant proof materials regarding the security risks of backdoors in H20 computing chips sold to China. The new media account "Yuyuantan Tian" under China Central Television released an article pointing out that the H20 chip is "not environmentally friendly, not advanced, and not safe," and is not a "good choice."
Last December 9, Chinese regulatory authorities initiated an investigation against NVIDIA for suspected violations of the anti-monopoly law. Nearly a year later, on September 15 this year, Chinese regulatory authorities again issued a statement, stating that NVIDIA violated the anti-monopoly law and decided to conduct further investigations.
On September 16 local time, Reuters reported exclusively that NVIDIA has launched several "reduced-specification customized chips" for the Chinese market, but more and more Chinese buyers are unwilling to buy them. For example, the latest AI chip RTX6000D tailored for the Chinese market has low demand, and its main large customers — multiple Chinese tech giants — have refused to place orders.
"Huang Renxun faces the challenge of maintaining a good reputation in the U.S. while seeking opportunities in the vast Chinese market. He believes that allowing NVIDIA to sell its highly popular AI chips with minimal restrictions is the best way to promote the national interests of both countries," the U.S. media reported.
Photo: Huang Renxun, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, Visual China
The Wall Street Journal mentioned that with the growing manufacturing capabilities of Chinese companies like Huawei, NVIDIA is under time pressure.
On September 18, Xu Zhijun, Vice Chairman and Rotating Chairman of Huawei, announced at the Huawei Global Connect Conference 2025 (HC 2025) several Ascend series chips and their development roadmaps, including the Ascend 950 series, Ascend 960 series, and Ascend 970 series. He stated that Huawei expects to launch the Ascend 950PR chip in Q1 2026, the Ascend 950DT in Q4 2026, the Ascend 960 chip in Q4 2027, and the Ascend 970 chip in Q4 2028.
Xu Zhijun also announced the new SuperPoD based on the Ascend 950 chip, which will become the strongest SuperPoD globally (with a capacity of 8192 cards), even surpassing the NVL576 system that NVIDIA plans to release in 2027. Moreover, the SuperPoD based on the Ascend 960 chip (with a capacity of 15488 cards) will be launched in Q4 2027, continuously providing abundant computing power.
Based on the SuperPoD, Huawei simultaneously released SuperPoD cluster products. Xu Zhijun announced the interconnection protocol "Lingqu" for SuperPoD on-site, connecting more computing resources together. Based on the Ascend 950, clusters of over 500,000 cards can be formed, and based on the Ascend 960, clusters of over 990,000 cards can be formed.
"Huawei launches new AI chip technology, challenging NVIDIA's dominant position," Bloomberg News reported with this headline, indicating that Huawei's latest R&D progress marks the latest attempt by China to reduce its reliance on the so-called "gold standard" of the AI industry, NVIDIA hardware, and to promote indigenous alternatives.
Reuters described Huawei as one of the key participants driving the development of domestic semiconductor manufacturing in China, aiming to reduce dependence on the U.S.-dominated supply chain. Now, Huawei has announced that it will launch four new generations of Ascend AI chips in the next three years, breaking years of secrecy and revealing its chip manufacturing progress and competitive ambitions for the first time.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong-based English newspaper South China Morning Post believed that this breakthrough by Huawei is expected to break the supply bottlenecks that have constrained the development of China's AI field and help China achieve self-reliance in AI computing.
The Wall Street Journal reported that currently, U.S. government officials are weighing whether to approve the sale of more advanced products based on NVIDIA's Blackwell architecture in China, but this decision has not yet been finalized. Trump is under pressure from the "national security hawks" within the administration, who believe that such transactions should not be allowed, and Trump may impose uncertain variables on export agreements, similar to the previous requirement for H20 export sales to pay a "rebate."
On September 17 local time, Dario Amodei, CEO of the U.S. AI startup Anthropic, claimed at an AI summit hosted by Axios News that the U.S. dominance in the chip sector may be the "only advantage" it still has over China, and should be "protected."
Dario Amodei, CEO of U.S. AI startup Anthropic, Axios News
"Selling these chips to China is like gambling with our country's future," Amodei, who spoke about so-called "security interests," claimed: "No matter how dangerous this technology (AI) is, no matter what kind of protective measures are needed, I believe it is crucial to beat China in this technology." He then exaggerated: "This may control the fate of nations, this may control the future of 'freedom and democracy.'"
Axios News emphasized that compared to other AI company CEOs who follow the government's position on export controls and other issues, Amodei's stance has made him more tense with the Trump administration. Amodei, who once worked briefly in Baidu's Silicon Valley AI laboratory, insisted: "I think this may be the most disastrous national security decision made during this term of the Trump administration."
Previously, Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated that China has repeatedly expressed its firm position on the U.S.'s malicious suppression of China's semiconductor industry.
Lin Jian emphasized that the U.S. has politicized, generalized, and instrumentalized trade and technology issues, continuously increasing chip export controls on China, and pressuring other countries to suppress China's semiconductor industry, seriously undermining international trade rules, damaging global supply chain stability, and not benefiting any party. China has always firmly opposed this, and I want to emphasize that suppressing and containing China cannot stop its development, but will only enhance China's determination and ability for self-reliance and self-strengthening in science and technology. China will closely monitor related developments and resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. We hope relevant countries will resolutely resist coercion, jointly maintain a fair and open international trade and economic order, and truly protect their long-term interests.
This article is an exclusive piece by Observer Net, and it is not allowed to be reprinted without permission.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7551684055972987407/
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