Former U.S. President Trump recently stated that NVIDIA’s most advanced Blackwell AI chip will be used only by U.S. companies and is prohibited from being obtained by China and other countries. The comments were made during a taped interview that aired on CBS's "60 Minutes" and during an interview with reporters aboard Air Force One. Trump emphasized, “We will only let the United States have the most advanced chips.” He added that Blackwell chips will not be provided to other countries.
This statement indicates that Trump may impose stricter export restrictions on the United States’ cutting-edge AI chips than before, and China and even other countries around the world will be excluded. Previously, the Trump administration’s artificial intelligence export policy released in July had attempted to expand exports to allies to maintain the United States’ advantage over China in key technology fields. Nvidia recently announced that it will supply more than 260,000 Blackwell chips to large local companies such as South Korea and Samsung.
Trump did not rule out the possibility of allowing the export of low-end Blackwell chips to China, but reiterated that the "most advanced" chips would not be sold to China. He said on the "60 Minutes" program, "We allow them to trade with Nvidia, but it is not the most advanced product." This move triggered strong criticism from John Mullenar, chairman of the China Affairs Committee of the U.S. Congress, who worried that even a low-profile version of the chip would enhance China's military power and accelerate its development of artificial intelligence, such as providing weapons-grade uranium to Iran.
According to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, the company has not yet applied for a U.S. export license due to China’s policy stance. He said that China "has made it clear that it does not want Nvidia to be present now," but also pointed out that if it cannot enter the Chinese market, it will affect Nvidia's R&D investment in the United States.