China’s antitrust regulator announced on Monday that it had opened an antitrust investigation into Nvidia, the American company that makes the vast majority of the computer chips that power artificial intelligence systems.
The probe comes a week after the Biden administration expanded curbs on the sale of advanced American technology to China. In response, the Chinese government last week announced it would ban the export of several rare minerals to the United States and imposed sanctions on more than a dozen U.S. defense firms and defense industry executives.
Together, the moves by Beijing signal its willingness to engage in supply chain warfare as the trade war escalates between the world’s two largest economies.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said on Monday that it was investigating Nvidia for violating commitments made during its acquisition of Mellanox Technologies, a company that makes computer networking equipment. The Chinese regulator conditionally approved Nvidia’s acquisition of the company in 2020.
Nvidia’s dominance over the essential building blocks of advanced A.I. systems has helped it become one of the world’s most valuable companies over the past year.
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