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Recent documents have revealed that state-linked Chinese entities have been utilizing cloud services from Amazon and other providers to access advanced AI chips and capabilities that are restricted by U.S. regulations. This situation highlights ongoing challenges in the U.S.-China technology rivalry, particularly in the domain of artificial intelligence.
A Cryptocurrency report by Reuters indicates that various Chinese organizations have circumvented U.S. export restrictions by leveraging cloud computing services provided by companies such as Amazon Web Services (AWS). Analysis of over 50 public tender documents uncovered that at least 11 Chinese entities sought access to restricted U.S. technologies through intermediary Chinese firms, rather than directly from AWS.
For instance, one document from April 2024 revealed that Zhejiang Lab, a Chinese research institute working on its AI model GeoGPT, allocated funds to purchase AWS cloud services. The lab stated that its local resources were insufficient for its computing needs. Another document showed Shenzhen University acquiring cloud services powered by Nvidia A100 and H100 chips for an undisclosed project.
Despite U.S. embargoes on advanced chips, such as Nvidia’s A100 and H100, which were banned in September 2022 to limit Chinese military AI capabilities, Chinese chip makers and local innovations have been employed to navigate these restrictions. Nvidia’s slower A800 and H800 chips were also banned in October 2023.
Further investigation revealed that access to these restricted chips was facilitated through servers from Supermicro and Dell. Although these actions do not directly violate U.S. export regulations, which focus on the transfer of technology and commodities, they highlight a significant loophole in current restrictions.
In response, U.S. officials, including Michael McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, are advocating for tighter regulations to close these loopholes. Microsoft’s cloud services have similarly been used by Chinese entities, such as Sichuan University, which acquired Microsoft Azure OpenAI tokens to develop a generative AI platform.
This evolving situation underscores the complexities of managing international technology regulations and the ongoing strategic competition between the U.S. and China in the AI sector.
