The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued new guidelines warning that the use of Huawei’s Ascend AI chips “anywhere in the world” may violate U.S. export control regulations. Released by the Bureau of Industry and Security, the statement highlights concerns over U.S.-origin AI chips being utilized in training or inference for Chinese AI models.
This move aligns with Washington’s broader strategy to curb the Chinese mainland’s access to advanced semiconductor technologies. However, it also underscores a deeper anxiety: the fear of losing global leadership in artificial intelligence.
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang recently remarked that China is “not behind” the U.S. in AI development, calling the race an “infinite” one. His comments, made at a tech conference in Washington, D.C., reflect a growing recognition of the Chinese mainland’s rapid advancements in AI.
U.S. tech leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and executives from Microsoft and Advanced Micro Devices, have urged lawmakers to streamline policies for AI-related projects. During a congressional hearing, they emphasized the need to stay competitive amid the global race with the Chinese mainland in AI development.
The latest guidelines come after a period of regulatory shifts. The U.S. had previously reconsidered the “AI Diffusion Rule” but has now adopted a more aggressive stance. Implementing such extraterritorial bans presents significant challenges, especially in convincing other nations to comply with U.S. laws that might limit their own technological progress.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has consistently criticized U.S. actions targeting the semiconductor industry. Lin Jian, a spokesperson for the ministry, stated at a regular press conference on February 25 that “the U.S. has politicized trade and technology, overstretched the concept of security, and used these issues as tools, stepping up chip export controls against China and coercing other countries into going after the Chinese mainland’s semiconductor industry.”
“Such moves hinder the development of the global semiconductor industry and will backfire and hurt the U.S. itself as well as others in the end,” Lin added.
In response to the increasing pressure, companies like Huawei have intensified efforts to achieve technological self-sufficiency. Despite sanctions imposed since 2019, Huawei has made notable advances in AI and chip development. The company recently invited select tech firms to test its most powerful processor yet, the Ascend 910D. According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal, this chip is expected to rival or even surpass NVIDIA’s H100 in performance.
If innovation continues to thrive under pressure, Washington may need to reconsider its approach. Is the goal to contain the Chinese mainland, or is it inadvertently accelerating its technological advancements?
