Counting the chips

The US has formally approved sales of Nvidia’s second most powerful chip, the H200 to China, albeit with conditions that both ensure there are enough chips for the US market, and that they won’t fall into any kind of military use. Meanwhile, Reuters has cited unnamed sources stating that Beijing would approve sales only under certain unspecified circumstances.

The assumption has to be that Nvidia chips are useful for China, but Beijing seems to want to downplay. The leadership has repeatedly stated that China should be using its own domestically produced chips, but there is clearly a market for them.

As the world appears to be moving into spheres of influence, it is clear that semiconductors will play a core role.