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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] According to a report by the Financial Times on the 24th (local time), advanced Nvidia AI chips restricted under U.S. export controls have been illegally smuggled into China over the past three months, with the total value exceeding $1 billion.
The report states that since May, several Chinese distributors have begun supplying Nvidia’s high-performance B200 chips—based on the Blackwell architecture and superior in performance to the previously regulated H20 chips—to data center providers serving Chinese AI companies. This comes after the Trump administration imposed further restrictions, banning even the lower-spec H20 chips that had previously been permitted for export to China.
Multiple sources confirmed that despite an official ban, B200 chips are still “readily available in China's gray market due to high domestic demand for U.S.-made semiconductors.” Distributors in Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces are reportedly also selling other restricted chips including the H100 and H200.
Experts cited in the article noted that Southeast Asia has become a key procurement region for Chinese companies seeking high-end AI chips. In response, the U.S. Department of Commerce is reportedly considering extending export controls on advanced AI technologies to countries like Thailand beginning in September.
The Financial Times added that there is no evidence suggesting Nvidia’s direct involvement or knowledge of these illicit sales. In response, Nvidia commented, “Building data centers with smuggled chips is both technically and financially inefficient. We only provide services and support for officially certified products.”
알파경제 Kim Jisun (stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
