【By Observer News, Xiong Chaoran】On November 19 local time, the U.S. chipmaker NVIDIA released its third-quarter financial report. In the three months ending on October 26, its total revenue increased by 62% year-over-year to a record $57 billion.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported on November 20 that although NVIDIA's quarterly revenue reached an all-time high, its sales in the Chinese market continued to decline. Sales in mainland China (including Hong Kong) dropped by 63% to $3 billion.

NVIDIA's Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress stated during the same-day earnings call that due to geopolitical issues and fierce competition in the Chinese market, the company failed to secure large orders from China in the third quarter of this year. She also said that while NVIDIA is disappointed with the current regulatory situation that prevents it from selling more competitive products to China, it still remains committed to maintaining communication and engagement with both the U.S. and China.

"In order to establish a sustainable leadership position in AI computing, the United States must win the support of all developers, becoming the preferred platform for every commercial enterprise, including Chinese companies," Kress said.

The Wall Street Journal pointed out that earlier this week, Amazon and Microsoft joined forces to support a bill that may further restrict NVIDIA's exports of products to China, but NVIDIA is still striving to gain access to the lucrative Chinese market.

Photo: Huang Renxun, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, Visual China

From the Biden administration to the Trump administration, the U.S. has implemented a series of chip export restrictions aimed at containing and suppressing the development of Chinese technology, and these measures have been continuously tightened. NVIDIA's AI chips are a top priority in this context. To this end, NVIDIA has sought to sell "modified special edition" H20 chips to China, but the Trump administration has remained vigilant.

According to reports, in the first quarter of this year, the H20 chip generated $4.6 billion in sales for NVIDIA. However, in the second quarter of this year, NVIDIA did not sell any H20 chips to Chinese customers.

In mid-July this year, Huang Renxun, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, announced in China that the U.S. government had approved the sale of H20 chips to China. However, this H20 chip generated only about $50 million in revenue in the third quarter of this year.

The more serious issue is not just about sales. NVIDIA's position between the U.S. and China seems to be getting increasingly awkward, especially as controversies surrounding the company continue to expand and spread.

On July 31, to safeguard the cybersecurity and data security of Chinese users, China questioned NVIDIA and requested it to explain and submit relevant evidence regarding the security risks of backdoors in the H20 computing chips sold to China. The new media account "Yuyuantan Tian" under China Central Television also published an article that specifically mentioned the H20 chip was "not environmentally friendly, nor advanced, and certainly not safe," and was not a "good choice."

On August 10, the Financial Times reported that U.S. chip companies such as NVIDIA have agreed to "contribute" (or could be called "paying a commission") 15% of their chip sales revenue in China to the U.S. government in exchange for export licenses issued by the Trump administration. This sparked widespread public reaction.

On September 15, Chinese regulatory authorities again issued a statement saying that NVIDIA violated the anti-monopoly law and decided to conduct further investigations in accordance with the law.

As China strives to develop its own chip manufacturing capabilities, Huang Renxun recently revealed that NVIDIA's market share in China has dropped from 95% to 0. "Currently, we have completely exited the Chinese market." "It is unimaginable for any decision-maker to think it is a good idea that the policies we implement have caused the U.S. to lose one of the largest markets in the world, dropping to zero," he said.

At the end of October, when Huang Renxun attended APEC-related events in South Korea, he again stated that although there are no current plans, he still hopes to sell NVIDIA chips to Chinese customers.

On November 5, during an AI Future Summit hosted by the Financial Times, Huang Renxun made a direct comment, stating that "China will win the AI race," which was seen as his "most explicit statement yet" (the starkest comments yet).

He believes that due to the relaxation of regulations on data centers in China and lower energy costs, China will surpass the U.S. in the AI race. He criticized new AI regulations introduced by U.S. states and said they could lead to "50 new regulatory measures." He also compared this approach with China's energy policy, mentioning that Chinese tech companies can run domestic AI chip alternatives at a much lower cost.

Notably, shortly after making this statement, late that evening, Huang Renxun quickly added a brief statement, clarifying that China is only slightly behind the U.S. in the AI field, and that maintaining the lead is "crucial" for the U.S.

"As I have long said, China is only a few nanoseconds behind the U.S. in AI. It is crucial for the U.S. to maintain its leadership and win the favor of global developers," he wrote in a statement posted on the social media platform X.

On October 29, during the regular press conference of the Foreign Ministry, when asked about Huang Renxun, CEO of NVIDIA, who stated that U.S. AI chips need to be exported to China, the spokesperson Guo Jiakun responded that specific issues should be directed to the relevant Chinese authorities. The Chinese government has repeatedly expressed its principle stance on the issue of U.S. chip exports to China, and hopes that the U.S. will take concrete actions to maintain the stability of the global supply chain.

This article is an exclusive piece by Observer News. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7574968591628501540/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author and is not necessarily the view of the site. Please express your attitude by clicking the [top/down] buttons below.