By The Biden administration engages in discussions with Nvidia over AI chip sales to China, with certain limitations.
Gina Raimondo, the U.S. Commerce Secretary, mentioned in an interview with Reuters that Nvidia might be permitted to sell artificial intelligence chips to China, primarily for commercial applications. However, there’s a clear restriction: the most advanced and powerful AI chips won’t be sanctioned for sale to Chinese entities.
Raimondo emphasized the need for compliance, highlighting Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang’s commitment to adhering to regulations. She cautioned against companies attempting to skirt restrictions by tweaking chip designs to fall just below set limits, indicating that such moves would be met with prompt control measures.
While noting Nvidia’s desire to operate within the rules, Raimondo stressed ongoing collaboration with the company. However, Nvidia declined to comment on the matter, even as Huang had previously mentioned their cooperation with the U.S. government to ensure compliance regarding chip exports to China.
On a different note, Raimondo expressed uncertainty about the effectiveness of a commercial issues working group established with China in August. She also touched upon China’s recent actions, such as granting licenses and approvals in certain sectors, and highlighted concerns about delayed Boeing airplane deliveries to Chinese airlines.
Additionally, Raimondo reiterated the necessity for congressional legislation to manage potential national security threats posed by foreign-owned apps like TikTok, underlining the need for tools to address such concerns without singling out specific companies.
Despite TikTok’s denial of national security risks, the call for legislative action to address broader security issues from foreign apps remains a prominent concern for the U.S. administration.
