By Mike Robuck
A coalition of 20 U.S. national security experts has strongly opposed the decision to allow Nvidia to resume sales of its H20 AI chip to China, warning it poses a serious threat to U.S. economic and military superiority in artificial intelligence (AI).
In a letter addressed to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on July 28, the experts criticized the move as a “strategic misstep,” stressing that the H20 chip—though redesigned to comply with October 2023 export controls under President Joe Biden—remains a potent accelerator for China’s AI ambitions.
The H20, optimized for AI inference tasks, was specifically tailored to bypass U.S. export restrictions. According to the letter, the chip surpasses even the high-performance H100, which is currently restricted due to its cutting-edge capabilities.
The experts warned that allowing H20 sales to China would not only reduce availability for U.S. developers but also potentially bolster China’s military AI development, thereby weakening the integrity of U.S. export controls. “This is not a question of trade. It is a question of national security,” the letter asserted.
Signatories include prominent figures such as Matt Pottinger, former Deputy National Security Advisor under President Trump, Stewart Baker, a former Homeland Security official; and David Feith, a former National Security Council member.
The opposition comes amid heightened scrutiny of U.S.-China tech competition. Last week, the Trump campaign unveiled an AI Action Plan aimed at reinforcing U.S. leadership in the field. Meanwhile, a House panel on China has also urged the Commerce Department to halt Nvidia’s sales to the Chinese market.
Source: Mobile World Live
