On Wednesday, 14 January, the administration under President Donald Trump announced approval for exporting Nvidia's H200 chips, with the condition that 25% of sales revenue be shared with the U.S. government.
"This chip model isn't the best, but it has sufficient potential. China and other countries want it, and we will also earn 25% of the sales revenue from that chip," Donald Trump said.
The H200 chip differs from the previous H20 model exported to China in that the H200 is not performance-throttled like the H20 to comply with export restrictions. The H200 is sold both in the United States and other global markets.
Trump also stated that the H200 is not Nvidia's most powerful AI chip on the market; the Blackwell and Rubin chips clearly have higher capabilities.
Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang has said the company now sees growing demand for the H200 chip from Chinese customers and has resumed production of this chip.
However, it remains unclear whether China will approve the import of this chip, as China is currently ramping up domestic chip production to compete.
The U.S. Department of Commerce clarified that several conditions must be met to export the chip to China, including that exporters must officially certify that there is sufficient supply of the H200 chip in the U.S. and that global production capacity used to supply the U.S. will not be diverted.
The U.S. government also stated that the customers must have adequate security measures, and every chip must pass testing by an independent U.S. agency to confirm it meets proper standards before export.
Another export restriction to China is that the export volume cannot exceed 50% of the quantity of the same chip model delivered to customers in the U.S. The documents also specify that AMD's MI325X chip will be subject to the same legal framework.
China Hawks, or anti-China factions within the Trump administration, have voiced concerns that allowing exports of the H200 chip to China may be a mistake and could enable China to become the leader in AI instead of the U.S.
Matt Pottinger, a White House advisor, said, "This chip export to China could help China overhaul and enhance its military capabilities," potentially boosting areas ranging from nuclear weapons and cyber warfare to autonomous drones, biological weapons, intelligence operations, and influence campaigns.
He also emphasized that the U.S. Congress needs to establish clear guardrails to prevent such mistakes from recurring.
"They have already stolen a great deal of intellectual property from this country, but we don't need to be the ones selling it to them," said U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul, without mentioning the H200 chip directly.
National security concerns over China accessing U.S. AI chips have been a key factor in the Biden administration's decision to ban sales of advanced semiconductors to China, considered high-value technology products.
A spokesperson for Nvidia stated, "The U.S. should enable industry competitiveness in the market through proper review and approval processes, and this will genuinely support American employment."
Meanwhile, David Sacks, the White House AI Czar, views allowing exports of advanced AI chips to China as reducing the incentive for Chinese competitors like Huawei to accelerate development of chip designs that rival Nvidia and AMD.
Follow the Facebook page: Thairath Money at the link -https://www.facebook.com/ThairathMoney