The Facts
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that, according to "people familiar with the situation," the US government is considering additional restrictions on exports of AI chips to China, citing rising concerns regarding the technology being used by US rivals.
The US Commerce Dept. will reportedly stop shipments of chips made by Nvidia and other chip companies to customers in China as early as July, with shares of Nvidia falling more than 2% and Advanced Micro Devices falling about 1.5% after the news broke.
The Spin
Pro-China narrative
The US can only ban the sale of technology or equipment, not the free flow of global tech talent to China, so it will be virtually impossible to contain China’s rise and emergence as a stronger power than the US. If the intention of these export control measures is to make it harder for China to become a global leader in artificial intelligence and semiconductors, it’s bound to backfire.
Anti-China narrative
The US is having a rational response to heightened geopolitical threats and the role of emerging technologies in advanced weapons systems. It would be foolish to expect the US to continue supplying its own and allies' technologies at the cost of national security, thus helping China reach its goal of upgrading its military capabilities. Even if a ban on chip exports to China sets off a slight geopolitical quake, it’s worth it.
