Select Committee Chairman John Moolenaar has addressed concerns about the state of artificial intelligence competition between the United States and China in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. The letter focuses on Nvidia H200 artificial intelligence chips and highlights the gap between Chinese and American technological capabilities.
Moolenaar emphasized that China remains behind the United States in terms of aggregate computing power, specifically referencing Huawei's position in the market. He stated, “What Huawei has been less willing to acknowledge is that available evidence suggest that its flagship chip was not made in China, but in Taiwan and South Korea…The Department of Commerce has taken commendable action to crack down on this blatant violation of export controls by holding TSMC accountable for at the nearly three million chips produced for a Huawei shell company. In the aftermath of that action, China will now be forced to rely on domestic production of the 910C. It is far from clear that China could achieve this production at scale, or even at all.”
He also discussed export controls put in place during President Trump’s administration, noting their impact on maintaining U.S. leadership in AI technology. “Export controls that President Trump put in place have been highly effective in securing the U.S. lead and forcing China into increasingly desperate illicit procurement. Approving the sale of cutting-edge chips to Chinese companies risks undercutting the extraordinary strategic advantage that President Trump achieved in his first term. In the President’s second term, realizing the full potential of President Trump’s AI Action Plan and AI executive orders depends on preserving and expanding that advantage,” wrote Moolenaar.
The Select Committee has requested a briefing from the Department of Commerce regarding its analysis related to decisions about Nvidia H200 chips. The committee plans to maintain oversight over U.S. policies concerning AI and semiconductor technology to ensure national interests are protected against exploitation by entities linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
A copy of Moolenaar's letter can be found online.
