Chinese companies have been buying these chips, very likely at scale
Durante casi un año, subsidiarias chinas en Malasia y otros países adquirieron libremente algunos de los procesadores de inteligencia artificial más avanzados del mundo, gracias a una laguna legal creada, paradójicamente, por la propia administración Trump al suspender en mayo de 2025 las regulaciones de difusión de IA establecidas por Biden. El Departamento de Comercio de Estados Unidos ha cerrado ahora esa brecha, exigiendo licencias de exportación para cualquier entidad de propiedad china en el mundo, independientemente de su ubicación física. Lo que esta historia revela no es solo un fallo burocrático, sino la tensión permanente entre la velocidad del comercio global y la lentitud de la voluntad política para contenerlo.
- Durante doce meses, chips Nvidia Blackwell y AMD MI350x —el corazón del desarrollo de IA más avanzado— llegaron sin restricciones a manos de entidades controladas por Pekín a través de filiales en Malasia y otros países.
- La laguna no fue obra de adversarios ni de contrabandistas: fue la propia administración Trump quien la abrió en mayo de 2025 al negarse a aplicar las regulaciones de difusión de IA heredadas de Biden.
- Un exfuncionario del Departamento de Estado calificó públicamente la situación de 'problema enorme', estimando que las compras chinas de estos chips durante ese período probablemente alcanzaron cientos de miles de unidades.
- El Departamento de Comercio publicó el fin de semana nuevas directrices que exigen licencias de exportación para cualquier entidad de propiedad o control chino en el mundo, cerrando la vía de las filiales y sociedades pantalla.
- La pregunta que queda sin respuesta es si el cierre llega demasiado tarde: los chips ya exportados están en uso, acelerando la investigación china en IA, y no pueden ser recuperados.
Durante casi un año, empresas chinas que operaban a través de subsidiarias en Malasia y otros países fuera del territorio continental chino pudieron adquirir sin restricciones algunos de los procesadores de inteligencia artificial más potentes del mundo. Los chips Blackwell y Rubin de Nvidia, junto con los aceleradores MI350x de AMD, llegaron a entidades controladas por Pekín mientras Washington proclamaba su compromiso de limitar el acceso chino a la tecnología necesaria para construir capacidades competitivas en IA.
La apertura provino de un lugar inesperado: la propia administración Trump. En mayo de 2025, el Departamento de Comercio anunció que no aplicaría los controles de exportación establecidos por la administración Biden en sus últimos días. Esas normas, conocidas como la regulación de difusión de IA, estaban diseñadas para impedir que chips avanzados llegaran a entidades chinas en cualquier parte del mundo. Al no aplicarlas, la administración Trump creó una laguna legal que permaneció abierta durante aproximadamente doce meses.
La magnitud de lo que se escapó por esa brecha sigue siendo incierta. No existe un recuento oficial de los chips exportados durante ese período, pero según fuentes con profundo conocimiento de las cadenas de suministro de semiconductores, la cifra probablemente alcanzó cientos de miles de unidades. Chris McGuire, especialista en tecnología y exfuncionario del Departamento de Estado, señaló públicamente el problema cuando el Departamento de Comercio actuó finalmente para cerrar la brecha, calificándola de 'problema enorme'.
Las nuevas directrices publicadas el fin de semana exigen licencias de exportación para chips de IA avanzados destinados a cualquier entidad de propiedad o control chino, independientemente de su ubicación física, abarcando subsidiarias, sociedades pantalla y cualquier estructura corporativa diseñada para eludir las restricciones originales. Lo que permanece sin respuesta es si este cierre llega demasiado tarde: los chips ya exportados están en uso, impulsando la investigación y el desarrollo de IA en China, y no pueden ser recuperados.
For nearly a year, Chinese companies operating through subsidiaries in Malaysia and other countries outside mainland China were able to purchase some of the world's most powerful artificial intelligence chips without restriction. Nvidia's Blackwell and Rubin processors, along with AMD's MI350x accelerators—the cutting-edge silicon that powers advanced AI systems—flowed into the hands of entities controlled by Beijing, despite Washington's stated commitment to starving Chinese firms of the technology needed to build competitive AI capabilities.
The opening came from an unexpected place: the Trump administration itself. In May 2025, the Commerce Department announced it would not enforce export controls that the Biden administration had put in place in its final days. Those rules, known as the AI diffusion regulation, were designed to prevent advanced chips from reaching Chinese entities anywhere in the world. By declining to enforce them, the Trump administration created what amounted to a legal loophole—one that remained open for roughly twelve months.
The scale of what slipped through remains uncertain. No official count exists of how many chips were exported during this window. But according to someone with deep knowledge of semiconductor supply chains, the number likely reached hundreds of thousands of units. That volume represents not a minor oversight but a significant breach in what has been one of the Biden and Trump administrations' most consistent and aggressive policies: the effort to constrain China's access to advanced computing power.
Chris McGuire, a technology specialist and former State Department official, flagged the problem publicly on Sunday when the Commerce Department finally moved to close the gap. He called it "an enormous problem." The loophole, he explained, allowed Chinese subsidiaries to purchase Nvidia Blackwell chips without any export license at all. "Chinese companies have been buying these chips, very likely at scale," McGuire wrote.
The new guidelines, published on the Commerce Department website over the weekend, represent an attempt to seal what officials now acknowledge was a mistake. Going forward, the government will require export licenses for advanced AI chips destined for any entity owned or controlled by Chinese interests, regardless of where that entity is physically located. The rule applies to subsidiaries, shell companies, and any corporate structure designed to circumvent the original intent of the restrictions.
What remains unclear is whether this closure comes too late. The chips that left American factories during the past year are already in use, already accelerating Chinese AI research and development. They cannot be recalled. The damage, if it can be called that from Washington's perspective, has already been done. The question now is whether the new rules will prevent the next wave of circumvention—or whether Chinese companies will find yet another workaround.
Citas Notables
This is an enormous problem. The loophole allowed Chinese subsidiaries to purchase Nvidia Blackwell chips without any export license.— Chris McGuire, technology specialist and former State Department official
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
How did this loophole even exist? Didn't the Biden administration already put these rules in place?
They did, but the Trump administration chose not to enforce them when it took office. It was a deliberate decision, not an accident. They announced in May 2025 that they wouldn't apply the AI diffusion regulations to foreign-based Chinese entities.
So for a year, Chinese subsidiaries in places like Malaysia could just buy Blackwell chips openly?
Exactly. No licenses required. The chips were flowing out of American factories into the hands of Chinese-controlled companies operating abroad. It was technically legal under the new interpretation.
And nobody caught this until now?
People in the industry knew. Chris McGuire, a tech policy expert, was calling it out publicly. But it took the Commerce Department a year to formally close the gap.
How many chips are we talking about?
Hundreds of thousands, according to supply chain sources. We don't have an exact number, but it's not a handful. It's a significant volume of the most advanced AI processors in the world.
What changes now?
Export licenses are now required for any advanced chip going to any entity owned by Chinese interests, anywhere in the world. It's meant to prevent the shell company workaround.
But the chips that already left—they're already in China's hands?
Yes. They're already being used. The new rules can only prevent future exports, not recover what's already gone.