International • 15:54 • Modified at 15:54
Tensions between China and US flare again despite preliminary trade deal
Author : Fleur Nuijten
Just days after the US and China reached a deal on a temporary reduction in mutual import tariffs, tempers are running high again, this time over Huawei’s most advanced chips, with tirades being fired back and forth.

Earlier, Washington warned against the use of Huawei's AI chips. Beijing responded by accusing the Trump administration of undermining the consensus reached during trade talks in Geneva. In the Swiss city, the parties agreed to temporarily roll back the tariffs. The move is intended to ease trade tensions and give the world's two largest economies three more months to resolve their differences.

Accusations
China's Ministry of Commerce has also accused the US of "abusing export controls to suppress China", engaging in what it describes as typical acts of unilateral intimidation and protectionism. The fierce response comes after the US administration rolled back some Biden-era restrictions aimed at keeping advanced AI chips out of the hands of foreign rivals.

In the accompanying directive, Washington warned that using Huawei's Ascend chips "anywhere in the world" would violate U.S. export regulations. That wording has since been changed, with the reference to global reach removed. However, Beijing argues that the revised text is insufficient to resolve the dispute between the two countries.

Fighting Nvidia's Dominance
The Ascend chips are Huawei’s most powerful AI processors and are being used to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in the development of high-end chips. As Huawei accelerates its efforts to develop its own high-end chips, the US chip giant has become increasingly concerned about losing access to the Chinese market, especially after the Trump administration restricted the export of Nvidia’s H20 AI chips to China.