China's access to Nvidia chips in doubt as curbs gain traction in US Congress

US House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Thursday there was growing consensus in Congress on limiting chip exports to China after a spy scandal forced out Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Huang stepped down after reports of a romantic relationship with a businesswoman whom US authorities suspect of spying for the Chinese government. Lawmakers from both parties have since called for tougher restrictions on China's access to advanced AI chips, threatening access to chips that underpin China's surging AI development. And senior White House officials were discussing whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should be pushed out, two people familiar with the situation said, as the desire to take action rose across Washington. A growing number of lawmakers have criticized Lutnick for the administration's refusal to add dozens of Chinese companies to a key US trade blacklist, and over whether the government was properly overseeing Nvidia's exports to China. Nvidia's advanced AI chips are widely used to develop cutting-edge AI models, making the company key to the US race against China to build superior AI