Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was warned by US senators about his impending travel to China. They advised him to stay away from businesses that are compromising US export restrictions on chips. There are worries about possible ways to get beyond technological protections.
Nvidia maintained that their technology was establishing a global norm. Huang had previously attacked US export controls on AI chips. More worries are raised by reports that DeepSeek is aiding China’s military. According to a report, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has received a strong warning from a group of US lawmakers about his impending visit to China.
Letter by Senators
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Republican Senator Jim Banks wrote a letter on 11 July urging Huang to avoid meeting with Chinese businesses that have connections to Beijing’s military and intelligence agencies or are suspected of undermining US semiconductor export rules.
According to a news agency, they also particularly warned against doing business with organisations on the US prohibited export list. Concerning possible circumvention of crucial US technology safeguards, the senators reportedly wrote, “We are concerned that your trip to the PRC could legitimise companies that cooperate closely with the Chinese military or involve discussing exploitable gaps in US export controls.”
Stressing that such technology could “accelerate the PRC’s effort to modernise its military,” the senators emphasised a consensus on the regulated export of powerful AI hardware.
Response from Nvidia
In response to the worries, a representative for Nvidia said that “America wins” when its technology becomes “the global standard.” AI software “should run best on the US technology stack, encouraging nations worldwide to choose America,” the representative said, highlighting China’s large pool of software developers.
This comes after Jensen Huang called previous limitations a “failure” and openly hailed US President Donald Trump’s move to loosen some export controls on AI chips in May at the Computex trade exhibition in Taipei. Huang had previously calculated that Nvidia’s revenue would drop by $15 billion as a result of the US’s April limitations on the company’s customised AI processors for China.
According to a media story last month, a senior US source claimed that DeepSeek, an AI company, was aiding China’s military and intelligence activities and had tried to get around US export restrictions on AI chips by using shell corporations. Chinese corporations have reportedly flown to Malaysia to train AI models before returning to China with the findings.
According to its most recent annual report, Nvidia made $17 billion in revenue from China in the fiscal year that ended on January 26. This accounted for 13% of the company’s total sales. China has continuously been cited by Huang as a crucial market for Nvidia’s expansion.
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