Key points
- Nvidia announced on Tuesday that it will resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China
- It comes after Washington pledged to remove licensing restrictions
- California-based company produces some of the world’s most advanced semiconductors
- But cannot ship its most cutting-edge chips to China
ISLAMABAD: The US tech giant Nvidia’s chief Jensen Huang Wednesday hailed China’s development in artificial intelligence (AI), saying it was a “catalyst” for global progress.
“China’s open-source AI is a catalyst for global progress, giving every country and industry a chance to join the AI revolution,” Huang told the opening ceremony of the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing.
Dubbing AI as a “fundamental infrastructure” like electricity and the internet, he said: “AI is transforming every industry, from scientific research and healthcare to energy, transportation, and logistics,” according to a video record of the event, according to Anadolu news agency.
“AI is transforming every industry, from scientific research and healthcare to energy, transportation and logistics,” he said.
“Super-fast” innovation
Huang praised China’s “super-fast” innovation, powered by its “researchers, developers and entrepreneurs”.
Nvidia announced on Tuesday that it will resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China after Washington pledged to remove licensing restrictions that had halted exports.
The California-based company produces some of the world’s most advanced semiconductors but cannot ship its most cutting-edge chips to China due to concerns that Beijing could use them to enhance military capabilities.
Nvidia developed the H20 — a less powerful version of its AI processing units — specifically for export to China.
Tightened export licensing
However, that plan stalled when the Trump administration tightened export licensing requirements in April.
“The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the company said in a statement Tuesday, adding it was “filing applications to sell the Nvidia H20 GPU again”.
The announcement from Nvidia boosted tech firms around the world, with Wall Street’s Nasdaq exchange rising to another record high and stocks in Hong Kong also rallying.
According to AFP, the tightened US export curbs come as China’s economy wavers, with domestic consumers reluctant to spend and a prolonged property sector crisis weighing on growth.
Greater self-reliance
President Xi Jinping has called for greater self-reliance in the face of increasing external uncertainty.
And in a thinly veiled swipe at Trump in his opening remarks at the expo, Vice Premier He Lifeng said: “… some countries are interfering in the market under the pretext of reducing risk, using measures such as imposing tariffs.”
“Global changes of a century are accelerating, with multiple risks intertwining and piling up,” he said.
“We need to further build a shared consensus on development, firmly oppose the politicisation… and over-securitisation of economic and trade issues, and work together to uphold an open and cooperative international environment.”
