The US government is discussing with Nvidia about allowing the sale of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, but emphasizes that it cannot sell its most advanced semiconductors to Chinese companies.

According to Reuters, on December 11th local time, US Secretary of Commerce Raymond said in an interview that the Biden administration is in discussions with American chip manufacturer Nvidia. Nvidia "can, will, and should (can, will, and should) sell AI chips to China because most AI chips will be used for commercial purposes, but the sale of the most precise and processing capable AI chips is prohibited."

"We will check every indicator of each new chip to ensure that it does not violate export controls," Raymond said in an interview

In sharp contrast, last week, Raymond issued a warning to chip companies regarding artificial intelligence chips at a forum in California. She said that the Ministry of Commerce usually sets a "boundary", and companies like Nvidia will create a new chip slightly below this line.

It is reported that Nvidia has a market share of over 90% in China's $7 billion AI chip market. Analysts say that the new restrictions on chip exports from the United States may create opportunities for Chinese competitors to enter the market.

Last week, NVIDIA CEO Huang Renxun stated that the company is working closely with the US government to ensure that new chips for the Chinese market comply with export restrictions. "Our current plan is to continue working with the US government to launch a new product that complies with certain regulations."

Colette Kress, Chief Financial Officer of Nvidia, stated that in the long run, banning the sale of AI chips to China will result in a permanent loss of opportunities for the US chip industry.

Previously, it was reported that Nvidia had informed Chinese customers that it would postpone the launch of new AI chips targeting the Chinese market until the first quarter of 2024.
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