[By Guancha Observer Network, Ruan Jiaqi]
After weekend talks, the deadlock in Sino-US trade has been "unfrozen," and both sides agreed to reduce tariffs by 115% within 90 days. US President Trump then rushed straight to the Middle East for his first major international visit of his second term.
From May 13 to 16 local time, Trump visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE for a four-day trip. In addition to discussing regional hot issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Iran's nuclear issue, it is expected that the US will sign a batch of business deals with Gulf partners, covering defense, aviation, energy, and artificial intelligence sectors.
According to the Atlantic Council, this Middle East trip by the US president is "distinctive." Because the measure of success has shifted to whether Trump can build a closer relationship with Gulf partners than China. Against this backdrop, the cancellation of US negotiations on accessing advanced chips in the Middle East has become a major focus of external attention.
In January this year, to further maliciously block China's access to advanced chips, the Biden administration hastily issued the "Artificial Intelligence Dissemination Export Control Framework" in the last week before leaving office, restricting the sale of advanced AI (AI) chips to Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among about 120 countries listed under "Level Two" control, with the US implementing dual restrictions on quantity and permits for excess exports.
Before the rules were set to take effect on the 15th of this month, the Trump administration officially revoked the relevant regulations on Monday. Meanwhile, during Trump's visit to the Middle East, there were reports that the US was negotiating with Saudi Arabia and the UAE to expand AI chip exports.
On the 13th local time, The Washington Post cited two sources familiar with the negotiations, saying that the Trump administration plans to authorize the sale of hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips to two companies associated with Middle Eastern governments, with relevant agreements possibly being finalized during Trump's visit to the Middle East.
The Washington Post and other US media outlets pointed out that allowing the export of large quantities of high-performance semiconductor chips to the Middle East represents a "shift" (break) in US foreign policy.
Although US media emphasized that this move by the Trump administration still carries the banner of suppressing and restricting China, aiming to "build an anti-China bastion" in the Middle East, some people remain dissatisfied, believing that this weakens the restriction on China.
Sam Winter-Levy, a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, expressed concern that increasing chip sales will enhance the artificial intelligence capabilities of these Middle Eastern countries, giving them a significant advantage in the global artificial intelligence race. These countries, which maintain close relations with China and Russia, may one day pose competition to the US.
"For the past half-century, we have been trying to weaken the influence these countries have over the US due to oil supplies. Why are we now building new dependencies?" he added, "You are transferring core strategic technologies like computing power overseas and deepening dependence on these regimes, which have close ties with China and Russia."
This kind of speech that politicizes normal economic and trade cooperation is merely a continuation of the US's一贯 stance of suppressing China. The Chinese side has repeatedly stated sternly that in the field of artificial intelligence, while the US claims to hope for dialogue with China, it is also brewing to suppress the development of China's artificial intelligence technology, exposing the hypocrisy of the US's double standards. The US actions cannot stop China's technological progress but will only inspire Chinese enterprises to stand on their own feet.
On May 13, 2025, local time, US President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia visited the historic district of Diriyah on the outskirts of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Visual China
According to comprehensive reports from The New York Times and Bloomberg, based on insider information, the Trump administration is considering an agreement that would allow the UAE to import over 1 million advanced Nvidia chips. Trump will travel to the country on the 15th.
It is understood that one-fifth will be allocated to G42, an AI company in Abu Dhabi, with the remainder distributed to American companies building data centers in the UAE, such as OpenAI. US media mentioned that G42 has previously caused "unease" to the US government due to its "cooperation with Chinese enterprises" and "close ties with China," and has been subject to strict scrutiny by the US government.
In addition, on May 13 local time, Huang Renjun, CEO of Nvidia, who accompanied Trump on his Middle East tour, announced that Nvidia will sell more than 18,000 of its most advanced AI chips to Humain, an AI company in Saudi Arabia. AMD also announced on the same day that it will supply chips to Humain's data center.
Dominating the related negotiations is David Sachs, Chairman of the US President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, responsible for AI and cryptocurrency affairs. At the Saudi-US Investment Forum held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, he defended the Trump administration's "pivot," claiming that the US can effectively manage national security risks without blocking the export of AI chips.
Sachs criticized the Biden administration's "chip dissemination rules" for restricting the spread of US technology globally. He also claimed, "The establishment of the 'dissemination rules' was because we did not want advanced semiconductor technology to flow into so-called 'problematic countries.' However, this rule never intended to restrict friendly countries, allies, and strategic partners."
"There is no risk of technology diffusion when engaging in technical exchanges with friendly countries like Saudi Arabia," he added.
According to The New York Times, Sachs also posted a photo of himself with UAE negotiation representatives on social media X, accompanied by the caption, "The US must make itself the preferred partner of our friends and allies, or else other countries will fill this void."
The US has long been wary of China's investments in the Middle East's artificial intelligence sector, and this concern has become particularly prominent against the backdrop of intensifying US-China tech competition in recent years.
As The Washington Post described, after taking office, Trump abolished Biden's "dissemination rules" under the pretext of "unleashing America's innovative potential" and instead negotiated with Middle Eastern countries to expand chip exports. However, this policy "about-face" is not just a relaxation of regulation; rather, it attempts to build a "fortress" against Chinese technology by binding Middle Eastern allies.
The Atlantic Council also pointed out, "To stay ahead in the US-China AI race, the US needs new investments and collaborations. This transformation is at the heart of everything witnessed in the Middle East this week."
According to two insiders, besides the aforementioned Sachs and Huang Renjun, several key figures from the US tech industry also traveled to the three Middle Eastern countries this week, including Musk, Trump's close ally, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. To seek the establishment of a data center in the UAE, Altman has repeatedly played the "China card," warning that if the US does not cooperate with the UAE, China will "take over."
It is worth noting that Trump's Middle East trip also aims to promote cooperation with Saudi Arabia on critical minerals.
According to Shahar Khan, founder and CEO of US investment firm Burkhan World Investments, who participated in the negotiations for the cooperation agreement, the Trump administration plans to approve a $9 billion memorandum of understanding between an American company and Saudi partners to explore and process critical minerals used in advanced manufacturing, energy, and defense.
Documents obtained by The Washington Post show that according to the terms of the agreement, Grand Mines Mining LLC, a Saudi enterprise, will explore lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements in Saudi Arabia and Africa and export the mined resources to the US.
"Mining and energy are one of the key areas of focus for (Trump's) state visit," said Grace Lin, director of the Critical Minerals Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). For the US, mineral processing remains the most critical bottleneck, with China controlling 60% to 90% of capacity. Therefore, deepening US-Saudi cooperation provides a strategic opportunity to increase processing capacity, reduce dependence on China, and strengthen long-term supply chain security.
This article is an exclusive contribution from the Guancha Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7504161285056119315/
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