Trump temporarily drops export controls to smooth negotiations with China

After previously saying that the US would block exports of key AI chips to China, Donald Trump's administration may have backtracked. The US will now temporarily block restriction on exports of chips and other technology to China, the Financial Times reported. The aim is to help Trump book a meeting with China President Xi Jinping later this year in order to strike a trade deal, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Export controls are dictated by the US Commerce Department, which was reportedly told to avoid tough moves on China, according to eight people including current and former US officials. Trump is said to have wanted to avoid angering Xi due to the risk of China retaliating further on the export of crucial rare earths and magnets. 

Last week, NVIDIA said it would be able to resume selling key AI chips to China after being blocked earlier by the Department of Commerce. "The US government has assured NVIDIA that licenses will be granted and NVIDIA hopes to start deliveries soon," the company stated in a blog post. Today's news of frozen export controls effectively backs up that statement.

However, 20 people including security experts and former US officials, including from Trump's previous administration, wrote the Department of Commerce saying it was a bad idea to give China access to advanced AI chips. "This move represents a strategic mis-step that endangers the United States’ economic and military edge in artificial intelligence," they said in a letter. "By supplying China with these chips, we are fueling the very infrastructure that will be used to modernize and expand the Chinese military." 

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