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Beijing has summoned Nvidia over alleged security issues with its chips, in a blow to the US company’s push to revive sales in the country after Washington granted approval for the export of a made-for-China chip.
China’s cyber regulator on Thursday said it had held a meeting with Nvidia over what it called “serious security issues” with the company’s artificial intelligence chips. It said US AI experts had “revealed that Nvidia’s computing chips have location tracking and can remotely shut down the technology”.
The Cyberspace Administration of China requested that Nvidia explain the security problems associated with the H20 chip, which was designed for the Chinese market to comply with US export restrictions, and submit documentation to support their case. The announcement comes as Nvidia is rebuilding its China business after Washington this month lifted a ban on H20 sales to the country.
After Washington’s U-turn, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang visited Beijing to meet officials and customers. He stressed his company’s commitment to the Chinese market and introduced a new graphics processing unit based on the latest Blackwell series that is tailored to align with existing US export controls.
The CAC did not specify which experts had found a back door in Nvidia’s products or whether any tests in China had uncovered the same results. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The move comes after media reports that US congressman Bill Foster was planning to introduce a bill that would require Nvidia to embed location tracking into their hardware to crack down on smuggling into China.
Beijing has issued informal guidance to major Chinese tech groups to increase purchases of domestic AI chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia and support the evolution of a rival domestic chip ecosystem.
Chinese tech giant Huawei and smaller groups including Biren and Cambricon have benefited from this push to localise chip supply chains.
Nvidia said it would take nine months from restarting manufacturing to shipping the H20 to clients. Industry insiders said there was considerable uncertainty among Chinese customers over whether they would be able to take delivery of any orders if the US reversed its decision to allow its sale.
The Trump administration has faced heavy criticism, including from security experts and former officials, who argue that the H20 sales would accelerate Chinese AI development and threaten US national security.
