US-China Chip Export Controls Stalled

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer stated that U.S. export controls on semiconductor chips were not a major topic during recent discussions with Chinese officials in Beijing. This indicates that a breakthrough for selling Nvidia's advanced H200 chips to China remains distant. While the United States had cleared several Chinese companies, including Alibaba Group, Tencent, and ByteDance, to purchase H200s, no deliveries have been made. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that China has not approved H200 deliveries, as China aims to develop its own domestic chip production. Chinese policymakers view reliance on U.S. chips as a supply chain vulnerability and are pushing for self-sufficiency, despite current computing power shortages affecting AI models. The U.S. maintains that allowing H200 imports is a 'sovereign decision' for China, balancing national security with market benefits. Discussions between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping did include artificial intelligence and potential cooperation on AI safety, but substantive commitments are limited due to growing AI rivalry and mutual distrust.