Key Points
- China summoned Nvidia staff as a warning against U.S. plans to track AI chips.
- The U.S. is exploring ways to track its high-end chips to enforce export controls.
- Nvidia publicly stated it opposes any “backdoors” or tracking features in its products.
- Some see the U.S. stance as hypocritical after its previous warnings about Huawei.
China is pushing back hard against U.S. plans to track high-end AI chips, using a recent meeting with Nvidia staff as a warning shot in the ongoing tech trade war. Last week, Chinese internet regulators summoned Nvidia employees, citing security risks in the company’s less-advanced H20 chips.
Analysts say the move isn’t really about the H20 chip, which Chinese companies have been using for a while. Instead, it’s a strategic play by Beijing to tell the world to be wary of U.S. tech surveillance and to pressure Nvidia to lobby the White House. China aims to demonstrate that, as a major buyer of chips, it won’t be a “blind buyer” that accepts surveillance technology.
The controversy stems from a White House plan to explore chip-tracking technology to enforce its export bans. Nvidia, caught in the middle, pushed back strongly. In a blog post, the company declared, “There are no back doors in Nvidia chips. No kill switches. No spyware.”
The situation creates an awkward look for the U.S., which previously warned the world against using Huawei equipment due to concerns over espionage. Now, as the U.S. openly considers mandating its tracking features, some are asking, “What government would accept this?”
This chip-tracking dispute adds another layer of tension to the broader U.S.-China trade negotiations. While President Trump said Tuesday that the two countries are “getting very close to a deal,” it’s unclear how this new conflict over technology surveillance will affect the outcome.
