The Trump administration is giving China a much-needed boost in the race for artificial intelligence (AI). After a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, the company announced on July 15 that it would resume sales of its H20 AI chips in China following an April ban.
While NVIDIA produces certain higher-end chips for the domestic market, giving China access to the H20 will allow it to rapidly integrate AI into its military while it continues to pursue self-sufficiency.Commerce Department Allows NVIDIA, AMD To Resume Sales of Advanced ChipsWhile NVIDIA will still be required — on paper — to obtain export licenses from the Commerce Department to sell its H20 line to Chinese customers, the Trump administration has said they will be granted automatically.
Though not quite as powerful as NVIDIA’s newer chips, the H20 remains essential for AI deployment due to its memory capabilities that outclass the firm’s previously export-compliant H100 line. NVIDIA also reported that it would be introducing a new chip based on its leading Blackwell design specifically for the Chinese market and geared toward integrating AI into the industrial manufacturing sector.
Following the announcement, American semiconductor firm Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) unveiled plans to resume sales of its leading AI chips in China, which were also blocked in April. As with NVIDIA, AMD’s chips have become essential inputs for training advanced AI models.China Remains Reliant on U.S.
Semiconductors Despite Self-Sufficiency PushDespite Beijing pouring significant subsidies into its domestic semiconductor industry, China cannot produce chips capable of training leading AI models, leaving Chinese firms reliant on American suppliers. This reliance has led to significant computing shortages. Even DeepSeek, a leading Chinese AI developer, has publicly stated that its models’ power remains constrained due to American export controls on advanced AI chips.
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