NVIDIA Chips Still Being Sold to China Despite US Ban

NVIDIA microchips and semiconductors were able to get through to China amid the US export restrictions on the East Asian country, Reuters reported.

Internal documents show that Chinese military agencies, state-run tech institutions, and universities were able to procure banned Nvidia chips over the past year.

Selling and buying of high-end computer chips continue thanks to unknown Chinese suppliers smuggling NVIDIA components to Hong Kong and mainland China.

Majority of the smuggled NVIDIA chips like the A100, H100, A800, H800 were used for AI training and military technology.

The Harbin Institute of Technology and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, both accused of aiding the Chinese government against the US, were named in the documents.

None of the named organizations have commented about their possession of banned Nvidia chips.

US Semiconductor Ban on China Continues Amid Rising Tensions

The US imposed restriction bans on China for NVIDIA and AMD products in September 2022 to curb China's production of high-end weapons and technology that can be used against the Western superpower and its allies.

The two countries have been in a headlock for years now as both compete for regional control on major trading routes and economic deals to become the dominant financial state.

The US's involvement in the dispute in the Indo-Pacific region has only increased the tension between the countries.

In response, China has been ramping up state-sponsored cyberattacks on major US facilities, including power and water utility stations that can affect a whole State.

US authorities vowed to close the loopholes in the export restriction as soon as possible.

China Advances on AI Development for Weapon, High-End Technology

The US's fears on China's capabilities are not entirely unfounded as China continues to develop sophisticated

The AI industry is also on the rise in the East as Chinese firms are starting to produce their own microchips albeit much inferior to Nvidia's and AMD's.

As of writing, the two countries are planning to continue discussions on regulating AI use on warfare weapons and military-related technology.