China’s Military Quietly Pushed for Nvidia AI Chips, New Records Show

Wirescreen analyzed 3,800 procurement records and found that China’s People’s Liberation Army repeatedly sought Nvidia AI chips—from A100 to H800—over six years despite U.S. export restrictions, across multiple military units and through various channels, including shell companies. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang says the PLA isn’t reliant on Nvidia chips, but the report argues that U.S. technology was indeed part of China’s military capabilities. The findings also indicate China is expanding domestic chip capabilities (e.g., Huawei) to circumvent controls, and the data was shared with the Trump administration and Congress amid debates over tighter export rules for AI hardware.