Nvidia chips are at the center of the US-China trade battle
US tech giant Nvidia, which exceeded $5 trillion in market capitalization last October, is once again looking to China. Coinciding with a visit to the country by its CEO, Jensen Huang, to discuss the sale of its microchips.
The executive began a low-key trip over the weekend with a stop at the company’s new offices in Shanghai. Against a backdrop of stricter US controls on the sale of advanced chips to the Asian giant and Beijing’s efforts to reduce its technological dependence.
Bernstein analysts argue that China will continue to strengthen its AI chip ecosystem. While changes in US regulations will inevitably impact Nvidia’s position in its second-largest market.
The H200 chip, Nvidia’s second-most potent AI processor, is the subject of the discussion. Washington approved its sale to China at the beginning of January. But with limitations to avoid military use and a cap on the quantity of devices.
According to Nikkei Asia, Beijing is preparing restrictions on the quantity of cutting-edge chips Chinese businesses can purchase from overseas producers in spite of this conditional green light. It has instructed them to «pause» new orders while encouraging self-sufficiency.
Although Chinese officials have not formally admitted this, they have, as usual, hinted at their stance through the official press. Which called the US restrictions on the sale of the H200s «discriminatory» against China and asserted that they aimed to preserve the technological divide.
