[Source/Observer Network Qi Qian] Local time on April 15, US chip manufacturer NVIDIA issued a notice stating that the US government informed them on the 9th that an export license is required for H20 chips to China, and then on the 14th, it was informed that these regulations would be implemented indefinitely. The notice mentioned that this new regulation would affect a total of approximately $5.5 billion in quarterly costs for the company, involving inventory, purchase commitments, and related reserves of H20.

The New York Times reported that the new regulation restricts NVIDIA from selling more artificial intelligence chips to China. This is the first major restriction imposed by the Trump administration on semiconductor exports, reinforcing the rules set by the Biden administration. Reuters mentioned that after-hours trading saw NVIDIA's stock price fall by over 6%.

Reportedly, it is unclear how many licenses the US government will grant NVIDIA. Neither NVIDIA nor the US Department of Commerce has commented yet.

In March this year, Huang Renxun attended NVIDIA's annual software developer conference Video screenshot

As early as October 2022, the US government had already implemented a series of chip export restrictions, which were subsequently tightened to prevent American semiconductor giants such as NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel from selling their most advanced chips in China, forcing these companies to find workarounds. Previously, NVIDIA had developed the H20 series specifically for the Chinese market to comply with US export regulations, and began accepting orders in February last year.

Reuters stated that as "China-specific" AI chips, H20 are not as fast as other NVIDIA chips in training AI models, but they are competitive in the inference phase.

Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has promised to continue cracking down on US companies exporting AI chips to China.

The New York Times mentioned that after DeepSeek emerged, China's success in the AI field made the US feel even more uneasy. US Commerce Secretary Lutnik once claimed that the US should stop allowing Chinese companies to use American technology, including NVIDIA, "to compete with us."

At the same time, some US think tanks have also started advocating for stricter restrictions on chip exports to China. On the 15th, the US think tank "Progressive Institute" advocated for the export of H20 chips to China and claimed that Chinese companies may have already used H20 for large-scale AI model training.

NVIDIA CEO Huang Renxun has consistently opposed restrictions on exports to China. In May last year, Huang Renxun stated in a conference call that NVIDIA will continue to do its best to serve customers in the Chinese market and will do everything possible to achieve the best results. Last month, when asked about export controls to China, Huang Renxun pointed out that about half of AI researchers worldwide are from China, many of whom work in US laboratories.

According to reports by US consumer news and business channel (CNBC), the latest regulation is the strongest indication so far that NVIDIA's historic growth may slow down due to the US government's strengthening of chip export restrictions. According to NVIDIA's annual report, mainland China remains NVIDIA's fourth largest sales market, after the United States, Singapore, and Taiwan.

CNBC also reminded that the strategic impact of the new regulation far outweighs the financial impact. NVIDIA dominates the AI system semiconductor market, and selling chips to China is crucial for its future. NVIDIA believes that if it exits the Chinese market, its chip sales business will be handed over to Huawei, China's leading AI chip manufacturer, which will begin challenging its global sales share.

Patrick Moorhead, an analyst at technology consulting firm Moor Insights & Strategy, said: "This cuts off NVIDIA's access to a key market, and they will lose momentum in China. Ultimately, Chinese companies will turn to Huawei."

In February this year, foreign media cited messages indicating that the Trump administration was formulating stricter semiconductor restrictions and pressuring key allies to increase restrictions on China's chip industry, signaling that the new US administration would expand technological restrictions against China implemented by the previous administration.

In response, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian then responded that China had repeatedly expressed its firm stance on the US malicious blockade and suppression of China's semiconductor industry. The US side politicizes, generalizes security, and instrumentalizes economic and technological issues, constantly increasing restrictions on chip exports to China and coercing others to suppress China's semiconductor industry. Such actions hinder the development of the global semiconductor industry and will ultimately backfire, harming both others and oneself.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493732776194081280/

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