US tech czar warns China is only two years behind in semiconductor and chip design

[Skye Jacobs]

TL;DR: White House technology adviser David Sacks has raised concerns that China is rapidly narrowing the gap with the United States in semiconductor design, estimating the difference is now just one and a half to two years. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Sacks said Chinese companies, especially Huawei, have become adept at finding ways around US restrictions on advanced chip technology.

According to Sacks, Huawei is making swift progress in chip design and could soon begin exporting its hardware, although the company still faces challenges in producing high-end GPUs.

Huawei's momentum is visible in the Chinese market, where it is preparing to ramp up shipments of its new 910C AI chip to domestic customers. This chip, which integrates two of Huawei's previous 910B processors, is expected to deliver performance comparable to Nvidia's H100, one of the leading AI chips globally.

While this approach does not represent a technological breakthrough, it effectively doubles computational power and memory, offering Chinese firms a viable alternative as US export restrictions tighten.

Sacks warned that if Huawei and other Chinese firms succeed in bringing their products to the global market, American companies could face much stiffer competition in AI hardware and related technologies.

He also cautioned that overly strict US export controls could backfire. Limiting American chip sales too aggressively, he argued, might allow rivals to catch up and erode the US lead – especially if the United States misses opportunities to establish its technology as the global standard.

This concern, Sacks said, was one reason the Trump administration decided to drop a Biden-era rule that restricted GPU exports and required special licenses for some international buyers.

While Sacks acknowledged the importance of keeping the most advanced US chips out of China, he stressed that export controls should not hinder sales to allied countries that are willing to comply with American security requirements. He emphasized that the administration's goal is to make the US technology stack the preferred choice worldwide, giving American companies the largest possible share of the international market.

Sacks's comments come as Huawei's founder recently admitted the company's GPUs remain a generation behind the top US products. However, with many AI applications not requiring the latest hardware, Sacks suggested that Huawei could still become a formidable competitor if it can offer powerful, affordable products and build a strong ecosystem around them.

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US tech czar warns China is only two years behind in semiconductor and chip design

 

[noel24]

Not that I like communist-like dictatorships, but where is this obsession with Chinese tech comes from?
US and Western world are sitting on one hand while masturbating with the other, while Chinese just buying stuff and learning.
It's the same situation We went through with Japanese cars and electronics, and then with South Korean cars and electronics.
Just start taxing big corpos and spend that money on technology grants. And abandon the thought that Chinese follow Free Trade Organisation rules. Cut them off, but quietly, not with a great halo, fake reasons.

 

[HotToz]

Just as I once assumed that the restrictions imposed on China would backfire — pushing the country to develop its own solutions, both in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography and chip design — I now believe that the United States will not be able to maintain its dominance in global hardware sales. This is because its products will be significantly more expensive compared to Chinese devices and equipment.

When the public has the option to choose between two devices with the same performance and features, but one is considerably more affordable, it’s only logical to choose the more accessible option. It’s a simple matter of market economics.

 

[Thatsdisgusting]

Only two years behind

So, where's my RTY 4090, lebowski? Where is it, 250$\piece?!

 

[NumberNine]

They're doing everything they possibly can to prevent China from selling VRAM to Americans at prices that Nvidia cannot match.

This would circumvent the current HBM and VRAM control scheme, breaking exploitive pricing and gutting their profits.

They know they can't afford to compete.

 

[Megalomaniac]

Not that I like communist-like dictatorships, but where is this obsession with Chinese tech comes from?
US and Western world are sitting on one hand while masturbating with the other, while Chinese just buying stuff and learning.
It's the same situation We went through with Japanese cars and electronics, and then with South Korean cars and electronics.
Just start taxing big corpos and spend that money on technology grants. And abandon the thought that Chinese follow Free Trade Organisation rules. Cut them off, but quietly, not with a great halo, fake reasons.

The American Neocons KNOW that the two countries standing in their way of global domination are China and Russia. It's old news. Some argue that the proxy war in Ukraine is wearing Russia down but others argue that the Ukraine-Russian war and even the Israel-Iran war are there to wear down China as well.

China absolutely will achieve dominance in AI/semiconductors and blow past Nvidia. Even Jensen Huang has said so.

China's dominance mostly comes from a highly educated population between ages 20 and 45 which is larger than America's entire population (350,000,000). There is no way to sanction China as America does to its less powerful, non-nuclear armed victims. China has power throughout Asia, Africa and South America already.

All America will do is ultimately isolate itself. America may end up like North Korea.

BRICS is the future.

 

[Megalomaniac]

China 2 years behind?

Chances are, they're already ahead.

China has demonstrated its ability to manufacture at scale with Electric Vehicles, aircraft, consumer electronics and just about everywhere else. I'm not afraid of China like the Neocons are. I recognize that there's no way to hold them back and that they will force America to compete in a way that they never wanted to.

China has been allowing America to live a quality of life that American productivity doesn't justify.

Trump's trade war failed before it started.

 

[Str8Shot]

Not that I like communist-like dictatorships, but where is this obsession with Chinese tech comes from?
US and Western world are sitting on one hand while masturbating with the other, while Chinese just buying stuff and learning.
It's the same situation We went through with Japanese cars and electronics, and then with South Korean cars and electronics.
Just start taxing big corpos and spend that money on technology grants. And abandon the thought that Chinese follow Free Trade Organisation rules. Cut them off, but quietly, not with a great halo, fake reasons.

It is the basis of this self-inflicted rat-race we’re in, propagated by propaganda through media, videogames, and the same in those “rogue” countries against us. It’s a deliberate plan to keep the MIC going, because ultimately, all competition ends in war: if we can outcompete them, we’ll invade them is the motto.

 

[BuckarooBonzaii]

One thing about China, when things are thrown against them, they continue as if nothing happens and don't complain like what the West does. They're still determine to defeat the West which gives them the determination.