The US government has moved to restrict firms, including Nvidia, from selling to China the high-end GPU chips that are widely used in data centers and artificial intelligence applications, industry sources said on Thursday.
The ban, announced in a Nvidia statement to the US stock market regulator on Wednesday, caused a surge in China domestic chipmaker shares on Thursday based on potential "localization" opportunities.
Similar high-performance chips developed by Chinese firms and considered as potential replacements for US versions were being demonstrated at the ongoing WAIC event in Shanghai on Thursday.
The US has imposed the new license requirement, effective immediately, for any future exports to China and Russia, for potential "military use."
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular briefing on Thursday that the ban showed that the US was trying to keep its "technological hegemony" by stretching the idea of national security and using its own scientific and technological advantages to slow the growth of emerging markets and developing countries.
Also on Thursday, Shu Jueting, a spokesperson for China's Commerce Ministry, said at a news conference that China strongly disagrees with recent US actions that "abuse" export control measures to limit exports of items related to semiconductors into China.
The new rules cover Nvidia's A100 and forthcoming H100 integrated circuits, and any future Nvidia products with performances equal to or greater than A100, according to a company statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Nvidia expects the new license requirements to influence its Chinese business, worth about US$400 million in the third quarter.
