U.S. Justice Department Arrests Two Chinese Nationals for Smuggling Nvidia AI Chips to China

Illegal Export of 'H100' and Other Items Subject to U.S. Export Controls on China

U.S. law enforcement authorities have arrested two Chinese nationals on charges of illegally exporting advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Nvidia, worth tens of millions of dollars, to China in violation of U.S. export control measures against China.

According to Bloomberg News on August 5 (local time), the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a statement that two Chinese nationals were arrested for exporting Nvidia AI chips to China without U.S. government authorization through a company based in El Monte, California.

The chips in question are high-performance AI semiconductors from Nvidia, such as the 'H100', which are subject to U.S. export control measures against China. U.S. authorities stated that the suspects have been charged with violating the Export Control Reform Act by illegally exporting these chips to China, and they could face up to 20 years in prison.

Yonhap News Agency

The United States is strictly restricting exports of advanced semiconductors and chip manufacturing equipment to China as competition with China for technological leadership in the AI sector intensifies. The Donald Trump administration is also reportedly working on strengthening location tracking features in AI chips to enhance the effectiveness of export control measures.