【By Observer Net, Ruan Jiaqi】

Maliciously hindering the development of China's artificial intelligence (AI), the US has taken a new action. On July 4 local time, U.S. media Bloomberg cited sources who said that concerned about China obtaining semiconductors through intermediaries, the Trump administration is planning to restrict companies such as NVIDIA from exporting AI chips to Malaysia and Thailand.

According to the source, building on the existing ban on selling NVIDIA's advanced AI processors to China, the U.S. Department of Commerce is drafting a new rule proposal to further prevent China from obtaining advanced AI chips through intermediaries in these two Southeast Asian countries. He also said that this rule has not been finalized yet and may still change.

The source also said that the U.S. plans to implement controls on Malaysia and Thailand while formally revoking the "Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Export Control Framework." However, he also added that this draft is far from being a comprehensive alternative solution, for example, it does not address the security conditions for using U.S. chips in overseas data centers.

In January this year, in an effort to further maliciously block so-called "backdoors" for China to obtain advanced chips, the Biden administration hastily introduced the "Artificial Intelligence Diffusion Export Control Framework" in the last week before leaving office, establishing a three-tier licensing system for chip sales worldwide.

Before the rules were due to take effect in May, the Trump administration announced the cancellation of the regulations. The U.S. chip export policy made a major turn. At the same time, during his Middle East visit, the U.S. held talks with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which were placed in the "second level" control of the "AI diffusion export control framework," to expand the export of AI chips. These two countries had previously faced dual restrictions from the U.S. on the quantity and licensing of AI chip exports.

However, the report mentioned that Washington's intention to target China remains unchanged, and will continue to retain the semiconductor export restrictions on China that have been implemented since 2022 and continuously upgraded. This includes a measure in 2023 that restricts semiconductor exports to over 40 countries and regions. It is currently unclear whether the Trump administration will ultimately regulate AI chip exports to more countries and regions beyond Malaysia and Thailand.

The U.S. measures against China have triggered strong opposition from industry giants such as NVIDIA, which criticized Washington's restrictions on exports to China as a "wrong approach," causing more harm to American companies than to China. According to the informed source, the export controls targeting Malaysia and Thailand will include multiple measures to alleviate the pressure on companies with significant operations in the two countries.

According to him, one of the clauses stipulates that companies headquartered in the United States and dozens of friendly countries can continue to export AI chips to the two countries without applying for a license within a few months after the rule is announced.

Given that many semiconductor companies rely on Southeast Asian factories for key manufacturing processes such as packaging, the source also mentioned that certain exemption clauses will remain in the license requirements to avoid supply chain disruptions.

On May 13, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump visited the old town of Diriyah in the outskirts of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Visual China

Bloomberg reported that overall, this regulation marks the first formal step of the Trump administration's commitment to comprehensively reforming the previous government's "AI diffusion policy."

Since taking office in January this year, the Trump administration has consistently pledged to continue cracking down on U.S. companies' exports of AI chips to China. The U.S. Department of Commerce had stated in May that it would replace the previous rule with a "bold and inclusive strategy."

Regarding the disclosed content, the U.S. Department of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment. The report mentioned that apart from Secretary Rutnik, the department has hardly revealed any specific details about its regulatory vision.

The report said that with the Middle East trip as a symbol, the Trump team is turning to conduct separate negotiations with various countries, while maintaining the restrictions aimed at preventing Chinese companies from acquiring AI chips.

Last month, when testifying before Congress, Rutnik told lawmakers, "The U.S. will allow allies to purchase AI chips, provided that these chips are operated by approved U.S. data center operators and that cloud services connected to these data centers are provided by approved U.S. operators."

The report mentioned that the governments of Thailand and Malaysia have not responded to this matter. NVIDIA, which has repeatedly expressed public dissatisfaction with the U.S. restrictions, refused to comment.

NVIDIA CEO Huang Renxun said in May, "There is no evidence" of high-end AI chip smuggling transfers. He welcomed the Trump administration's cancellation of the "AI diffusion export control framework."

At the same time, Huang Renxun complained that the U.S. government's ban was "costly," causing "deep pain" to NVIDIA, resulting in a loss of $1.5 billion in sales.

In June, during events in several European countries, he reiterated his criticism of U.S. chip export restrictions, emphasizing again that the idea of blocking other countries from obtaining U.S. technology by restricting the spread of AI technology is fundamentally wrong. If U.S. companies do not compete in the Chinese market, then Chinese technology will spread around the world.

Regarding the U.S. malicious blockade and suppression of China's semiconductor industry, China has repeatedly expressed a serious position. The U.S. politicizes, generalizes, and instrumentalizes trade, economic, and technological issues, continuously increases the export control of chips to China, and coerces other countries to suppress China's semiconductor industry. Such actions hinder the development of the global semiconductor industry and ultimately backfire on itself, harming both sides.

This article is an exclusive article of Observer Net. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7523404295237943835/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking on the 【top/down】 buttons below.