China seeks US easing of chip-export controls under trade deal

Ahead of potential meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, China wants the United States to ease export controls on chips critical for artificial intelligence.

Financial Times citing unnamed people familiar with the matter said Chinese officials have told experts in Washington that Beijing wants the Trump administration to relax export restrictions on high-bandwidth memory chips as part of trade deal.

The White House, State Department and China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

HBM chips, which help perform data-intensive AI tasks quickly, are closely watched by investors due to their use alongside AI graphic processors, particularly Nvidia’s opens new tab.

The FT said China is concerned because the US HBM controls hamper the ability of Chinese companies such as Huawei to develop their own AI chips.

Successive US administrations have curbed exports of advanced chips to China, looking to stymie Beijing’s AI and defence development.

While this has impacted US firms’ ability to fully address booming demand from China, one of the world’s largest semiconductor markets, it still remains an important revenue driver for American chipmakers.

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