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.