Can China not make AI chips? Huang Renxun: It is only "a few nanoseconds" behind the United States.
Huang Renxun: China Lags Behind US in Chip Manufacturing by "Only a Few Nanoseconds", Calls for Relaxed Export Restrictions
According to reports from The Times of India, South China Morning Post and other media on September 28, Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of U.S. tech giant NVIDIA, stated that China is developing rapidly in the chip manufacturing sector and currently lags behind the United States by "only a few nanoseconds". He called on the U.S. government to ease export restrictions on China and allow American tech companies to compete in the Chinese market, arguing that this is in the interests of both China and the United States.
During an interview on the tech podcast "BG2" on September 26 (local time), Huang Renxun pointed out that China boasts a large talent pool, a dynamic work culture, and an internal competitive environment among its provinces. He described China's chip industry as "a vibrant, entrepreneurial, high-tech, and modern industry". He also mentioned that he had heard claims that "China cannot make artificial intelligence (AI) chips, lacks manufacturing capabilities, and is two to three years behind the U.S." "These claims sound absurd... China is now only a few nanoseconds behind the U.S., so we must compete," he emphasized.
Jensen Huang was interviewed on the podcast "BG2" on the 26th. Source: Screenshot from the video
Huang expressed his hope and belief that China will continue to maintain an "open market". "For China, it is most beneficial to have foreign companies invest and compete in China, while Chinese companies themselves can also participate in dynamic competition and expand into the global market," he said.
Reports indicate that Huang once again urged the U.S. government to allow American tech firms to conduct business in China. He argued that maintaining competitiveness in the Chinese market enables U.S. companies to "spread technology around the world" and will "maximize America's economic achievements and GEOpolitical influence".
In July this year, during his visit to Beijing, Huang announced that the U.S. government had approved the resumption of exports of the H20 chip to China. The H20 chip is an AI chip specially designed by NVIDIA for the Chinese market in compliance with U.S. tech export control requirements for China, and its performance is far inferior to that of the H100, NVIDIA's mainstream GPU chip for the global market. In April this year, the U.S. imposed a ban on the sale of the H20 chip to several countries including China on national security grounds. Following the ban, NVIDIA faced a $4.5 billion inventory loss due to unsold H20 chips, was forced to record a $5.5 billion impairment, and its market value evaporated by $160 billion at one point.
Lin Jian, spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated on September 18 that China has always opposed discriminatory practices targeting specific countries in economic, trade, and technological issues. China is willing to maintain dialogue and cooperation with all parties to safeguard the stability of global industrial and supply chains.
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