China Urges U.S. to Relax AI Chip Export Limits Amid Trade Talks

The Chinese government is urging the United States to relax export controls on artificial intelligence chips, vital for cutting-edge technologies, according to the Financial Times. This request comes amid trade discussions preceding a potential summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping.

Sources indicate that Beijing has pressed for the relaxation of restrictions on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips in dialogue with Washington experts, underscoring the importance of these components in data-intensive AI applications. These chips play a crucial role in AI developments, such as those from Nvidia, and are currently a significant hurdle for companies like Huawei due to U.S. export barriers.

Historically, U.S. administrations have limited the export of advanced technologies to China to curtail Beijing's AI and defense capabilities. While these constraints challenge American firms' access to the lucrative Chinese semiconductor market, the demand from China remains a critical revenue stream for U.S. chipmakers.

(With inputs from agencies.)