Three U.S. Measures Could Tighten Restrictions on Advanced Chip Exports to China

Key Facts

U.S. lawmakers have requested a briefing from Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang on allegations involving China’s access to sensitive information, with Republicans saying the issue raises serious national security concerns. They wrote that Congress must determine the extent of the threat to U.S. national security. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said a classified briefing for congressional leaders touched briefly on Nvidia, while focusing mainly on Iran. He added that lawmakers need a full briefing devoted to the issue. The requests come as Congress considers measures that could narrow China’s access to advanced AI chips.

Jeffries said Congress needs more information about what happened at Nvidia and backed including restrictions on U.S. chip sales to China in the final version of the annual defense bill. Questions center on whether information related to the company reached Chinese entities and whether that affected national security. Nvidia did not comment on the Republicans’ letter, but said Huang speaks with thousands of customer officials each year. The company said cloud-computing customers in Asia receive routine business information, not sensitive trade secrets or information related to U.S. national security. The response sets out what the company describes as routine exchanges with customers, as lawmakers seek broader answers.

The political demands intersect with an independent investigation launched by Nvidia’s board after reports that Huang was targeted in a “foreign intelligence effort,” the company said Sunday. The board said it sees no reason to believe Nvidia’s national security or trade secrets were compromised. The company added that Huang would remain chief executive and cooperate fully with the investigation. The New York Times reported, according to the Associated Press, that Alice Huang, a former official at Singapore-based Megaspeed International, gathered information for Beijing. The two are not related, the news agency reported.

The Associated Press, citing The New York Times, reported that Megaspeed bought more than $4.8 billion in Nvidia chips during the two years before the report. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said the espionage allegations “are unsupported by evidence and are nothing but fabrications about China.” Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jim Banks also said Huang’s confirmation of a relationship with someone suspected of being a Chinese intelligence spy makes security concerns more urgent. They called for the AI Oversight Act to be included in the defense bill. The allegations remain under independent investigation, as members of Congress seek clarity on whether U.S. information or technology was put at risk.

The fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act package includes three chip-related measures under consideration for possible inclusion. They would give Congress authority over advanced chip exports, require companies to track chips and press U.S. allies to restrict chipmaking equipment destined for China. The House Foreign Affairs Committee advanced all three measures earlier this year, and they became part of the Senate’s defense authorization bill package, Reuters reported. A spokesman for Americans for Responsible Innovation said the hurdle for the measures is winning White House support. He added that Nvidia’s backing in a fight with Congress over restricting China’s access to chips would become politically costly.

In trading, Nvidia shares fell more than 4% on Monday, November 9, while shares of other companies tied to AI, including AMD and CoreWeave, rose, according to the Associated Press. EL7 data showed Nvidia shares closing at $178.67 in the same session. The available data do not attribute the share move to any single factor. The next legislative step remains tied to the course of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act and the level of White House support for the proposed measures. Jeffries is also seeking a dedicated briefing on the company’s situation, after an earlier meeting addressed the issue only briefly.