China’s cyberspace regulators summoned Nvidia (NVDA) on Thursday to address security concerns regarding its H20 chips, which Chinese authorities claim could be remotely tracked and disabled, according to the Cyberspace Administration of China.
During the meeting, Chinese officials demanded that Nvidia explain the alleged “backdoor safety risks” in the H20 chips intended for sale in China and submit relevant documentation.
Responding to the allegations, an Nvidia spokesperson told AP, “Cybersecurity is critically important to us. NVIDIA does not have ‘backdoors’ in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them.”
This development follows closely after the Trump administration recently lifted restrictions on Nvidia’s sales of H20 chips to China. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang celebrated the resumption of sales during a visit to Beijing earlier this month.
The incident underscores ongoing tensions in the US-China tech rivalry, with both nations navigating complex issues of market access and national security.
Chinese regulators cited unnamed US AI experts, claiming Nvidia has developed advanced technology enabling tracking, locating, and remote disabling of its chips. The regulators emphasized the summons was to “safeguard the cybersecurity and data security of Chinese users,” citing Chinese laws.
The statement also referenced a US legislative push calling for tracking and locating features in advanced chips exported overseas.
In May, Representatives Bill Huizenga (R-Michigan) and Bill Foster (D-Illinois) introduced the Chip Security Act, which would mandate high-end chips to include “security mechanisms” to detect “smuggling or exploitation.” However, the bill has not advanced in Congress.
Foster remarked, “I know that we have the technical tools to prevent powerful AI technology from getting into the wrong hands.”
Currently, the US still prohibits sales of the most advanced AI chips to China. Both countries compete aggressively to dominate the artificial intelligence sector. In April, the Trump administration blocked sales of Nvidia’s H20 chips, developed to comply with US export restrictions on AI technology.
After lifting the ban, Nvidia anticipated significantly increasing H20 chip sales in China. But the move has raised concern among US lawmakers. On Monday, several top Democratic senators, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressing “grave concerns.”
Though the H20 is less advanced than Nvidia’s flagship H100 chip, the senators noted it “gives (China) capabilities that its domestically-developed chipsets cannot.”
Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Michigan), chair of the House Select Committee on China, also criticized the easing of restrictions: “The Commerce Department made the right call in banning the H20. Now it must hold the line.”
He warned, “We can’t let the CCP use American chips to train AI models that will power its military, censor its people, and undercut American innovation,” referring to the Chinese Communist Party.
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