Gina Raimondo, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, informed Morgan Brennan of CNBC in a one-on-one conversation that there will be stricter rules regarding tech exports to China, even though companies are worried. "The fact is, technology keeps progressing, China keeps evolving, and we have to keep pace," Raimondo stated.
BEIJING — Speaking to CNBC's Morgan Brennan in an exclusive interview over the weekend at the Reagan National Defense Forum, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo made it clear that further export controls for technology to China will be applied as needed, despite the worries of business. "The truth is that technology, China, and our regulation have to keep up with each other. We can't draw a line in the sand," Raimondo said.In October 2022, the Bureau of Industry and Security under the U.S. Department of Commerce announced policies that limit the ability of corporations to sell specific, advanced computer semiconductors or related manufacturing equipment to China. To this, Raimondo responded, "It was a bold step, but it was essential, as these semiconductors are incredibly powerful, and we can't risk them being in the wrong hands." She acknowledged that "China is a huge menace and it is growing."The U.S. has stated that it is concentrated on curbing China's military, but the limitations arrive as both countries strive to develop their artificial intelligence technologies with the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT.
At a defense forum panel facilitated by Brennan on Saturday, Rhode Island Governor Raimondo specified that she is exploring a fresh technique to impede China's access to some technologies through commencing "a continuous conversation" between industrial and government engineers. She remarked that "If China seeks to utilize AI by reconfiguring a chip in a certain manner, I will be able to manage it instantly." Reportedly, U.S.-based chipmaking firm Nvidia had to abort the launch of a new AI chip, which corresponded with U.S. export regulations, in China last month.
Raimondo stated in a CNBC interview that Nvidia has been in touch with them and is very mindful of the export controls. She continued to explain that while it is permissible for Nvidia to sell chips to China, the most advanced ones should not be sold. Nvidia responded to the comments with a statement, saying that they are in full compliance with the government's requirements. As Nvidia's sophisticated semiconductors are used for training artificial intelligence models, the company warned of the potential losses of $400 million in China due to the US restrictions. Raimondo underlined that it is important for companies not to violate the intention of the export controls, adding that as long as they follow the law and its spirit, it is acceptable.
President Joe Biden, up for reelection next year, signed a law in the past that would allot billions of dollars to the U.S. semiconductor industry. In contrast, the Chinese government has been increasing its own tech industry capabilities. Raimondo told CNBC that it is impossible to freeze Chinese progress, but the intent is to 'slow them down'. She said, "We still sell billions of dollars of semiconductors to China; however, we cannot give them entrance to the most advanced AI chips.""Therefore, we must work hard and quickly to stay ahead of the competition."-- Kristina Partsinevelos from CNBC has helped with this article.
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