WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The chairman of the House Select Committee on China on Friday objected to the resumption of Nvidia H20 AI chip sales to China in a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Nvidia said earlier this week it had been assured by the U.S. government that it would be permitted to resume sales to China of its H20 graphics processing unit, an important source of revenue for the world's most valuable company and a sign the United States was relaxing restrictions on the export
of AI technology to China.
"The Commerce Department made the right call in banning the H20," Republican Representative John Moolenaar wrote. "We can't let the (Chinese Communist Party) use American chips to train AI models that will power its military, censor its people, and undercut American innovation."
Shares of Nvidia turned negative after the news regarding the artificial intelligence chip.
Nvidia declined to comment. A representative of the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The planned resumption was a reversal of an export restriction imposed in April that is designed to keep the most advanced AI chips out of Chinese hands over national security concerns, an issue that has found rare bipartisan support. It drew swift questions and criticism from U.S. legislators on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Chris Sanders; Writing by Maiya Keidan; Editing by Caitlin Webber, Alexandra Hudson)
