Chinese military institutions and researchers were able to purchase and acquire high-grade chips from one of the leading semiconductor developers despite the Biden administration’s attempts to restrict the technology from China.
China was able to purchase small amounts of Nvidia semiconductors, according to a review of documentation by Reuters. While buying or selling U.S. chips in China isn’t illegal there, the Commerce Department has been attempting to enact policies to stop the country’s access to the technology in hopes of limiting its development of military-grade artificial intelligence. A review of public documents in the country revealed that several Chinese entities purchased very powerful chips in 2023, including the Nvidia A100 and the H100. These chips are considered some of the highest grade and are used to power high-end servers’ visual and processing power.
The buyers included the Harbin Institute of Technology and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, two entities specifically subjected to military export restrictions due to allegations they were involved in Chinese military weapon developments.
The chips were not purchased directly from Nvidia, according to documentation. However, it’s unclear who provided the chips. The United States previously restricted sales of Nvidia chips to countries in the Middle East, although the Commerce Department did not provide explicit reasons for doing so.
An underground market for Nvidia chips developed in light of the U.S. export restrictions.
Nvidia said it complies with all applicable export control laws and expects vendors and customers to do the same.
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“If we learn that a customer has made an unlawful resale to third parties, we’ll take immediate and appropriate action,” a spokesman for the company said in a statement.
The Commerce Department implemented export restrictions in September 2022 on Chinese access to advanced semiconductors. Those restrictions have since expanded to include the tools required to make semiconductors. The measures have led China to invest tens of billions of dollars in domestic manufacturing subsidies.
