The US-China chip war in dates

by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Dec 9, 2025

As President Donald Trump says the United States has agreed that chip giant Nvidia can sell AI semiconductors to China, AFP runs down the tussle over the key tech:

Aug 2022: Biden's Chips Act

Joe Biden, then US president, signs a bill to boost domestic chipmaking -- an industry Washington fears China could come to dominate through mammoth state-backed investments.

His Chips and Science Act includes $52 billion to boost the production of microchips, which are vital to almost all modern machinery.

Oct 2022: Export controls

Washington restricts exports to China of some advanced chips used to train and power artificial intelligence, on national security grounds.

It also toughens controls on the sale of chipmaking equipment. China says the country is trying to "maliciously block and suppress Chinese businesses".

In December, the US blacklists 36 Chinese companies -- many with close ties to China's defence sector -- severely limiting their use of US chip manufacturing tech and designs.

Oct 2023: Tighter curbs

A year later, with OpenAI's ChatGPT and other generative AI tools booming in popularity, Washington tightens the screws.

Attention has so far been focused on Nvidia's industry-leading H100 chip, but the government widens export curbs to other, lower-performing semiconductors.

Dec 2024 - Jan 2025: Biden's final moves

Ahead of Trump's return to the White House, Biden imposes a series of new rules on advanced chip exports to China.

"The US leads the world in AI now -- both AI development and AI chip design -- and it's critical that we keep it that way," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says.

One rule requires authorisations for re-exports and in-country transfers, a bid to avert any circumvention of chip supply to China.

Jan 2025: DeepSeek shock

Chinese startup DeepSeek stuns the AI industry with the launch of a low-cost, high-quality chatbot -- a challenge to US ambitions to lead the world in developing the technology.

Apr 2025: Nvidia's H20 blocked

Nvidia has developed new H20 semiconductors -- a less powerful version of its AI processing units designed specifically for export to China.

But the company says Washington has required it to obtain licences to ship H20s to China over concerns they may be used in supercomputers.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang campaigns against the moves, saying he is "willing to continue to plough deeply into the Chinese market".

May 2025: Trump eases rules

The Trump administration rescinds some Biden-era chip export controls, answering calls from countries who say they are shut out from crucial technology needed to develop AI.

Sep 2025: 'Nanoseconds behind'

In July, Nvidia says it will resume H20 sales to China because the US government has said it will grant it a licence to do so.

But soon Beijing reportedly bars Chinese firms from buying them -- pushing companies to choose domestically produced chips instead.

Nvidia's Huang warns in September that the combination of US curbs and Beijing's policies will fuel the rise of China's chip industry.

"They're nanoseconds behind us," he said. "So we've got to go compete."

Dec 2025: Trump-Xi agreement

Trump says he has reached an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping to allow Nvidia to ship H200 chips -- a higher-end product than the H20 -- to "approved customers in China".

Trump cites "conditions that allow for continued strong National Security" and citicises Biden's approach to the chip war.

Nvidia's most advanced chips -- the Blackwell series and forthcoming Rubin processors -- are not included in the agreement and remain available only to US customers.

H200s are roughly 18 months behind the company's most state-of-the-art offerings.

burs-kaf/dan

NVIDIA