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Experts worry about Nvidia's AI chip sales in China and influence over Trump
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China is considering letting firms import millions more Nvidia AI chips, reviving hopes for a crucial market. The move followed a Donald Trump-Xi Jinping summit where neither leader appeared ready to concede on export controls. Beijing could still deliver a commercial win for Nvidia.
Chinaâs Ministry of Industry and Information Technology asked Alibaba and ByteDance to detail plans to buy RTX Pro 5500 chips, sources said. Although marketed for gaming, the chips could enter servers powering in-demand AI models. Approval would broaden access to hardware restricted by Washington.
Nvidiaâs China business has been shaped by US restrictions. Huang has said Biden-era controls cut Nvidiaâs advanced-chip market share in China from about 95% to zero. Trump tightened rules, including an H200 export ban, and considered breaking up Nvidia to spur competition.
Trump shifted after dining with Huang at Mar-a-Lago, calling Nvidia an âamazingâ AI leader. He later lifted the H200 ban, and China permitted sales to some firms. Stephen Witt, author of The Thinking Machine, told NPR Huang is now Trumpâs most influential technology adviser. Witt said Trumpâs claims that AI is an economic boon, not an existential threat, match Huangâs perspective.
Critics worry Nvidiaâs profit incentives may be shaping US policy when safeguards matter most. The chipmaker benefits from continued AI expansion, while developers including Anthropic and OpenAI urge the White House to take potential harms seriously. The proposed sales therefore involve national security as well as revenue.
The wider trade relationship remains fragile. The summit extended a tenuous truce by only two months, while looming US controls could trigger Chinese limits on rare-earth exports, analysts expect. Greater access would help Nvidia, but the debate exposes tension between commerce, technological risk and national interests.
