Reuters reviewed hundreds of bidding documents and found that ten universities and research institutions in mainland China purchased server products produced by companies such as Supermicro, Dell and Taiwan’s Gigabyte Technology (2376) through dealers, bypassing the United States last November. The chip ban was expanded in March and it obtained advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Nvidia.
In response to a Reuters reporter, a Huida spokesperson said that the products involved in these tenders were exported before the U.S. imposed the ban, saying that the report “does not imply that any of our partners violated export control regulations, and the proportion of sales around the world is also negligible.” Huida complies with US regulatory regulations.
Supermicro and Dell both said that if a third party is found to be illegally exporting or re-exporting, they will investigate and take action; Gigabyte stated yesterday (23rd) that it complies with Taiwanese laws and international regulations, and there are no external reports on the situation.
Reuters pointed out that unreported bidding documents from November 20 last year to February 28 this year showed that the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shandong Artificial Intelligence Research Center, Hubei Provincial Earthquake Bureau, Shandong University, Southwest University, and a company affiliated with the Heilongjiang Provincial Government The server products purchased from dealers by mainland Chinese institutions such as technology investment companies, a state-run aerospace research center, and a space science center include some of Huida’s most advanced chips.
None of the 11 mainland Chinese dealers are unknown, and Reuters was unable to verify whether the servers sold were stock before the U.S. ban. Although the U.S. government prohibits Huida and its partners from selling advanced chips to mainland China directly and through third parties, buying and selling chips in mainland China is not illegal.
The bids found by Reuters in a database represent only a small fraction of purchases by state-owned entities in mainland China, showing that China has access to advanced AI chips, even though each purchase involves only a few servers and dozens of computers. The banned chip, industry analysts and executives say, is still useful for training models and conducting advanced research.
Daniel Gerkin, a partner at the Kirkland & Ellis law firm in Washington, said that due to lack of understanding of downstream suppliers, Huida chips may flow into mainland China unknowingly. If the manufacturer has completed sufficient due diligence before selling, the U.S. government must Taking enforcement action may be difficult.
The U.S. Commerce Department said it could not comment on any possible ongoing investigations, but it was closely monitoring the flow of restricted chips and officials may investigate credible allegations, including the purchase of restricted chips through shell companies.
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Tags: Mainland China takes detour buy Huida chips Huida Gigabyte comply regulatory regulations Industry hot spots Industry
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