China yesterday said that an investigation found US chip giant Nvidia Corp had run afoul of the country’s antitrust rules, and vowed an additional probe just after trade talks between Beijing and Washington entered a second day.
“Following a preliminary investigation, it has been determined that Nvidia Corporation has violated the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China,” said a statement from the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), Beijing’s top market watchdog.
The SAMR “has therefore decided to conduct a further investigation into the matter in accordance with the law,” it added.
Photo: AFP
The statement did not provide further details about Nvidia’s alleged legal contraventions or the further probe.
China in December last year launched an investigation into Nvidia over what it said were suspected contraventions of the country’s Anti-Monopoly Law, a probe that was widely seen as a retaliatory shot against Washington’s curbs on the Chinese chip sector.
The Chinese regulator said that Nvidia was suspected of contravening commitments it made during its acquisition of Israeli chip designer Mellanox Technologies Ltd, under terms outlined in its 2020 conditional approval of that deal.
According to China’s antitrust law, companies can face fines of between 1 and 10 percent of their annual sales from the previous year.
China generated US$17 billion in revenue for Nvidia in the fiscal year ending on Jan. 26, or 13 percent of total sales, based on its latest annual report.
California-based AI powerhouse Nvidia reported earnings last month that raised concerns about its business in China, which has come under increasing scrutiny in Washington as tensions over trade and geopolitics mount.
About an hour before the SAMR announcement, US and Chinese officials began a second consecutive day of bilateral trade talks in Madrid, seeking to narrow differences on a range of issues that have soured ties.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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