Chinese AI Stocks Diverge as Cambricon Rises More Than 11%
Key Facts
Chinese AI stocks diverged in Thursday’s session on 12 November, with model developers falling while domestic chipmakers rose as investors assessed the fallout from a crisis linked to Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang’s resignation and concerns about a possible U.S. tightening of restrictions. Cambricon shares rose more than 11%, and Moore Threads gained about 7%, while Z.AI fell 7.4% and MiniMax dropped 6.1%. Reuters reported that Chinese AI companies are seeking to rent computing capacity powered by Nvidia chips at data centers outside China. The divergence reflects companies’ differing exposure to risk: model developers and cloud service operators need advanced computing capacity, while domestic chipmakers have benefited from investors’ bets on substitution. Nvidia announced Huang’s resignation on Thursday and appointed Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress as interim chief executive, according to the Associated Press.
Concerns centered on whether U.S. export controls could extend from chip shipments to remote access through cloud computing services. Reuters says Chinese companies are trying to secure computing capacity abroad in anticipation of restrictions on their remote use. That possibility puts large language model companies at risk of reduced access to U.S. chips, even if the servers are located outside China. Morningstar analyst Chelsea Tam said tighter U.S. government restrictions on Chinese companies’ access to U.S. chips would negatively affect companies working in the large language model field. She added: "If the U.S. government tightens Chinese companies’ access to U.S. chips, we expect all companies working in the large language model field to be negatively affected."
The potential regulatory step remains under discussion, as a U.S. bill that would allow the Commerce Department to regulate remote cloud access to restricted technology awaits action by the Senate. The House of Representatives passed the Remote Access Security Act in January 2026 by a vote of 369 to 22, according to Reuters. That makes the bill’s progress one of the indicators companies relying on computing infrastructure outside China are watching. The Javical Dragonomics group said the biggest risk to China’s AI sector is that the crisis prompts tighter export controls on advanced chips and the equipment used to make them. The group said tighter controls could come "perhaps before the end of this year"—a possibility, not an announced U.S. decision in the available information.
Thursday’s moves followed a wave of declines in Chinese and Hong Kong shares, while Friday’s session on 13 November showed a mixed performance across Asia. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.9% to 23,786.48, while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2% to 3,663.71, according to the Associated Press. The divergence highlights that AI-related concerns have not translated into a uniform direction for the broader Chinese market. Nvidia shares closed at $166.19 on 12 November, according to EL7 data. During the same period, Reuters pointed to pressure on AI-related stocks after the U.S. midterm elections, amid concerns that tighter regulation could slow the expansion of data center infrastructure.
Markets are awaiting Nvidia’s quarterly results, scheduled for Tuesday 17 November, according to Investing.com. The results date could provide another indicator for investors tracking chipmakers and demand for computing capacity, as they also watch the Senate’s handling of the remote access bill. Chinese model companies remain more exposed to the risk of losing access to U.S. chips if restrictions tighten, according to the Morningstar analyst’s assessment. Cambricon’s and Moore Threads’ gains in Thursday’s session show that some investors moved into domestic chip suppliers while selling shares in model companies. The prospect of tighter regulation remains tied to future political developments, rather than any newly announced U.S. measure in the available facts.