China wants US to relax export controls on chips as part of trade deal

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China is urging the US to ease export controls on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, a crucial component for artificial intelligence chips, as part of a trade deal in anticipation of a potential summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping.

According to sources, Chinese officials have expressed their desire for the Trump administration to relax export restrictions on HBM chips. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been leading trade negotiations with China, with the HBM issue being raised during some of these discussions.

Amidst the looming deadline for a trade deal between the US and China, there are speculations about a possible extension of the ceasefire to avoid the reimplementation of high tariffs.

The focus on export controls to China has intensified, particularly regarding the H20 chip designed by Nvidia for the Chinese market. There are concerns that relaxing export controls on HBM chips could significantly benefit Chinese companies like Huawei and SMIC in developing their own AI chips.

Experts emphasize the critical role of HBM in the production of advanced AI chips, with export controls on HBM chips being identified as a major constraint on China’s AI chip production capabilities.

As tensions rise over the potential relaxation of export controls by the Trump administration, there is growing scrutiny on Nvidia for selling gaming chips in China that are being marketed for AI applications.

John Moolenaar, head of the House of Representatives’ China committee, called for more action from Nvidia and the US government’s Bureau of Industry and Security to address the smuggling of advanced AI chips and the repurposing of gaming chips for AI use in China.

Nvidia defended its actions, stating that its gaming products are intended for individual consumers and comply with US export control laws.

The controversy surrounding export controls on AI-related technologies reflects the broader trade tensions between the US and China, with implications for the future of technological innovation and competition between the two global powers.