Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has announced that the company is in talks with the Trump administration about a potential new computer chip for China, sparking interest in the ongoing tech trade dynamics between the US and China.
Huang made the revelation during his visit to Taiwan, where he met with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC), Nvidia’s key manufacturing partner and the world’s largest chip maker. He addressed inquiries about a possible “B30A” semiconductor intended for artificial intelligence data centers in China, stating that it would be a follow-on to the H20 chip. “I’m offering a new product to China for … AI data centers, the follow-on to H20,” Huang said, emphasizing that the ultimate decision rests with the U.S. government. “That’s not our decision to make. It’s up to, of course, the United States government. And we’re in dialogue with them, but it’s too soon to know,” he added.
The B30A chip, built upon Nvidia’s Blackwell technology, is reportedly engineered to operate at approximately half the speed of Nvidia’s flagship B300 chips. These chips, specifically graphics processing units (GPUs), are crucial for constructing and enhancing various AI systems. However, they are designed to be less powerful than Nvidia’s current top-tier semiconductors, which are restricted from sale to China due to U.S. national security concerns.
Huang commended the Trump administration for its recent approval of Nvidia’s H20 chip sales to China, a business that had been suspended in April. This approval stipulates that Nvidia must remit a 15% tax to the U.S. government on these sales. Similarly, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was directed to pay the same 15% tax on its MI380 chip sales to China. While Huang refrained from commenting directly on the tax, he expressed Nvidia’s appreciation for the opportunity to sell H20s to China, asserting that such sales do not pose any security risks to the United States.
Nvidia is also engaged in discussions with Beijing to alleviate concerns that its chips might present a “backdoor” security vulnerability. “We have made very clear and put to rest that H20 has no security backdoors. There are no such things. There never has. And so hopefully the response that we’ve government will be sufficient government will be sufficient,” Huang stated.
The Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s internet regulatory body, recently published a notice on its website referencing alleged “serious security issues” associated with Nvidia’s computer chips. The notice cited U.S. AI experts who claimed that the chips possess “mature tracking and location and remote shutdown technologies.” Nvidia was subsequently requested to explain these potential risks and provide relevant documentation.
Huang expressed Nvidia’s surprise at these accusations and confirmed that the company is addressing the issue with Beijing. “As you know, they requested and urged us to secure licenses for the H20s for some time.’ve worked quite hard’ve worked quite hard to help them secure the licenses. And so hopefully this will be resolved,” Huang said.
Adding to the complexity, unconfirmed reports suggest that Chinese authorities are dissatisfied with comments made by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, implying that the U.S. is only selling outdated chips to China. Lutnick, speaking on CNBC, outlined the U.S. strategy as maintaining China’s reliance on American chip technology. “We don’t sell them our best stuff,” he said. “Not our second best stuff. Not even our third best, but I think fourth best is where we’ve come out that we’re cool,” he added.
China’s Communist Party has prioritized self-reliance in advanced technology as a strategic objective, even though the nation continues to depend on foreign semiconductor expertise for a significant portion of its production.
