According to a Reuters report, on Monday local time, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo stated that the U.S. government is in discussions with Nvidia regarding the permission to sell artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, emphasizing the restriction on selling its most advanced semiconductors to Chinese companies.
"Given that the majority of AI chips will be used for commercial applications," Raimondo stated, Nvidia "can, will and should" sell AI chips to China.
She added that the U.S. government cannot allow Nvidia to sell the "most complex, highest-powered" AI chips to China. The report mentioned that the U.S. is scrutinizing the specific details of three new AI accelerators developed by Nvidia for China. The U.S. Department of Commerce had pledged in early December to restrict any new chips providing AI support to China. Raimondo emphasized, "We will scrutinize every specification of every new chip, clearly to make sure it doesn't violate export controls."
Raimondo stated, "We talk to Nvidia on a regular basis, and I should say they are a good partner. We have a close working relationship with them. They share information."
In response to Raimondo's latest remarks, Nvidia stated that it is cooperating with the U.S. government, adhering to its explicit rules, and seeking to "provide compliant data center solutions for global customers."
The U.S. Department of Commerce declined to comment on whether it plans to restrict Nvidia's new chips but reiterated its commitment to continuously updating rules to address evolving threats.
Last week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that the company is closely collaborating with the U.S. government to ensure that the new chips for the Chinese market comply with export restrictions. "Our current plan is to continue to work with the U.S. government to introduce a set of new regulations with certain restrictions," he said. Earlier reports suggested that Nvidia had informed Chinese customers of a delay in launching new AI chips for the Chinese market until the first quarter of 2024.
Nvidia's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress mentioned that in the long term, prohibiting the sale of AI chips to China would result in the permanent loss of opportunities for the U.S. chip industry.
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