Explaining the decision, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the administration wanted Chinese developers “addicted” to American technology, while insisting the US wouldn’t sell China “our best stuff.” That, he said, required a more balanced policy that would keep the US “one step ahead of what they can build so they keep buying our chips.”
Only a few years ago, the Biden administration declared export controls a “new strategic asset” to help the US maintain “as large a lead as possible” over China in advanced technology. President Donald Trump is now upending that approach.
In a reversal this week, the White House told chipmaker Nvidia Corp it could soon resume sales of its less advanced China-focused H20 artificial intelligence accelerator. Advanced Micro Devices Inc received similar assurances from the US Commerce Department.
