US signals willingness to remove tech export restrictions with China

The US will stop short of including the most sophisticated US chips made by Nvidia used to power artificial intelligence, according to Kevin Hassett. File Picture: PA

Trade talks between the US and China kicked off in London on Monday, with the US signalling a willingness to remove restrictions on some tech exports in exchange for assurances that China is easing limits on rare earth shipments.

Kevin Hassett, the director of the White House’s national economic council, told CNBC that the Trump administration expects that “after the handshake” in London, “any export controls from the US will be eased and the rare earths will be released in volume” by China.

Mr Hassett’s comments from Washington were the clearest signal yet that the US is willing to offer such a concession, although he added that the US would stop short of including the most sophisticated US chips made by Nvidia used to power artificial intelligence.

“The very, very high-end Nvidia stuff is not what I’m talking about,” Mr Hassett said, adding that restrictions would not be lifted on the Nvidia H2O chips that are used to train AI services.

“I’m talking about possible export controls on other semiconductors, which are also very important to them [China],” he said.

US stocks flipped between small gains and losses, and Chinese shares trading in Hong Kong entered a bull market as investors expressed hope the talks signalled a cooling of trade tensions.

• Bloomberg