Media: At least $1 billion in AI chips were smuggled into China after the US imposed restrictions on AI chip exports

On the 24th local time, according to a report by the Financial Times (FT), after the US strengthened export controls on artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, at least $1 billion worth of NVIDIA AI chips were smuggled into China within three months.

According to the report, several Chinese distribution companies have been providing banned NVIDIA B200 chips to data center suppliers used by Chinese AI companies since May. The B200 chip is NVIDIA's latest AI chip based on the Blackwell architecture, with performance far exceeding the low-end "H20" chips exported to China. In May, US President Donald Trump not only prohibited the export of high-performance AI chips such as H100 to China, but also implemented prohibitions on exporting chips such as H20 that are specifically designed for China.

According to multiple sources, although the B200 chip is banned from being sold to China, "there is a strong demand for American chips, and it is easy to buy them on the black market in China." It is reported that distribution companies in Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces not only sell B200 chips, but also other banned chips such as H100 and H200. The smuggling value of NVIDIA chips entering China reached over $1 billion within three months.

It is reported that Chinese companies purchase these chips through Southeast Asia. Previously, there were reports that AI chips from the United States were smuggled into China through shell companies in Southeast Asia.

According to FT reports, the U.S. Department of Commerce is discussing additional regulatory measures to restrict the export of high-end AI products to countries such as Thailand starting in September. However, the media stated that there is no evidence that NVIDIA directly participated in or was aware of the sale of restricted products to China.

Source: Chosun Ilbo

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1838636838814731/

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