US approves sale of Nvidia's advanced AI chips to China The US government has given chip giant Nvidia the green light to sell its advanced artificial intelligence (AI) processors in China, the Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. The H200, Nvidia's second-most-advanced semiconductor, had been restricted by Washington over concerns that it would give China's technology industry and military an edge over the US. The Commerce Department said the chips can be shipped to China granted that there is sufficient supply of the processors in the US. President Donald Trump said last month that he would allow the chip sales to approved customers in China and collect a 25% fee. Nvidia's spokesperson told the BBC that the company welcomed the move, saying it will benefit manufacturing and jobs in the US.

These advanced chips are largely used for artificial intelligence (AI) applications at a time when investors are betting that AI will transform the global economy. Last month, Nvidia - which is the world's leading chip maker - became the first company ever to hit 4tn ( 3tn) in market value. Nvidia developed the H20 chip, and AMD developed the MI308 chip, especially for the Chinese market. They are less powerful and therefore cheaper than both companies' flagship chips. But developing them was the only option for accessing the significant Chinese market after the previous administration of President Joe Biden banned US companies from exporting the most advanced chips to China because of national security concerns.

In a statement to the BBC, Nvidia also said: "America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership. America's [artificial intelligence] tech stack can be the world's standard if we race." Under the agreement, Nvidia will pay 15% of its revenues from H20 chip sales in China to the US government, while AMD will give the same percentage from its MI308 chip revenues, which was first reported by the Financial Times. Charlie Dai, vice president and principal analyst at global research firm Forrester, said this agreement is "unprecedented". "The arrangement underscores the high cost of market access amid escalating tech trade tensions, creating substantial financial pressure and strategic uncertainty for tech vendors", he added.

The Trump administration is considering a deal that could send hundreds of thousands of U.S.-designed artificial intelligence chips to G42, an Emirati A.I. firm that the U.S. government has scrutinized in the past for its ties to China, three people familiar with the discussions said. The negotiations, which are ongoing, highlight a major shift in U.S. tech policy ahead of President Trump's visit to the Persian Gulf states this week. The talks have also created tension inside the Trump administration between tech- and business-minded leaders who want to close a deal before Mr. Trump's trip and national security officials who worry that the technology could be misused by the Emiratis. The Trump administration has embraced cutting direct deals for A.I. chips with officials from the Middle East, as it looks to strengthen U.S. ties in the region, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the negotiations are ongoing. The approach marks a break from the Biden administration, which had rejected similar A.I. chip sales over fears that they could give autocratic governments with strong ties to China an edge over the United States in developing the most cutting-edge A.I. models in coming years.

The United States has taken further action to limit China's technological advancement, revoking licenses that allowed Intel and Qualcomm to buy and sell chips to Huawei Technologies, the Financial Times reports. The decision will impact chips Huawei uses for computers and mobile phones and is effective immediately. Huawei has been on US trade restrictions lists since 2019 but has recently made progress that worries the US government, such as last month's AI-enabled laptop. "We continuously assess how our controls can best protect our national security and foreign policy interests, taking into consideration a constantly changing threat environment and technological landscape. As part of this process, as we have done in the past, we sometimes revoke export licenses," a spokesperson for the Department of Commerce stated.