U.S. Officials Warn China Chip Deal Could Erase AI Advantage

U.S. lawmakers warn against exporting Nvidia’s Blackwell AI chips to China, citing risks to America’s AI dominance and national security.

Republican Lawmaker Warns Against Selling Nvidia’s Blackwell Chip to China Amid AI Tensions

Oct 29 (Reuters) — U.S. lawmakers are intensifying warnings against allowing the sale of Nvidia’s advanced Blackwell AI chips to China, arguing such a move would severely undermine America’s technological edge and national security.

John Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Select Committee on China, compared the potential sale to “giving Iran weapons-grade uranium,” emphasizing that the U.S. must not supply its “primary adversary” with the world’s most powerful AI hardware.

Posting on X, Moolenaar said he had urged the administration to block any export of Nvidia’s B30A chip — a scaled-down version of the Blackwell GPU — to China. “These chips should instead go to U.S. companies that are building American AI dominance for years to come — not the future of the Chinese military,” he wrote.

Trade experts echoed the warning, saying exporting the B30A would effectively dismantle the 2022 U.S. chip export restrictions, which were designed to prevent Beijing’s military and AI programs from benefiting from U.S. technology.

“If we decide to export B30As, it would dramatically shrink the U.S.’s main advantage it currently has over China in AI,” said Tim Fist, co-author of a recent analysis examining the implications of loosening export controls.

The debate comes as President Donald Trump prepares to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, where he suggested he might discuss Nvidia’s so-called “super-duper” Blackwell chip. Trump previously indicated he could permit sales of downgraded versions to China, a move that has sparked bipartisan concern.