China ruled that Nvidia Corp. violated anti-monopoly laws with a high-profile 2020 deal, ratcheting up the pressure on Washington during sensitive trade negotiations.
The US chipmaker was found in violation of antitrust regulations after the acquisition of networking gear maker Mellanox Technologies Ltd., the State Administration for Market Regulation said after concluding a preliminary investigation. Nvidia’s shares slipped about 1% in US trading.
The surprise announcement emerged with US and Chinese officials heading into a second day of wide-ranging negotiations in Madrid over tariffs, which could shape the relationship between the world’s two largest economies. Over the weekend, China also said it was launching an anti-dumping investigation targeting a type of semiconductor made by US companies including Texas Instruments Inc. Its shares fell as much as 4.7%.
The regulator didn’t specify on Monday what sort of remedies it would seek from Nvidia, adding it will investigate the company further. Nvidia didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment outside of regular office hours.
On Monday, President Donald Trump said he would speak with China’s Xi Jinping on Friday after lower-level negotiations between the two countries. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides had discussed the poor timing of the Nvidia investigation, but had agreed on a framework to keep ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok app running in the US, another long-running conflict between Washington and Beijing.
Nvidia has this year found itself thrust into the center of delicate negotiations between Beijing and Washington, because of its central role in driving future technologies including artificial intelligence. The company dominates the market for the chips essential to building and operating AI services at companies from Meta Platforms Inc. to DeepSeek.
In December, Beijing opened a probe into Nvidia’s acquisition of Mellanox, taking aim at the world’s most valuable company. Beijing gave approval for the $7 billion acquisition deal four years ago, on the condition that Nvidia not discriminate against Chinese companies.
The US government then implemented regulations that banned Nvidia from selling its most advanced AI chips to Chinese companies, including the H100, because of what it called national security concerns. Nvidia redesigned its chips at least twice so they would comply with the American regulations and it could sell them into the country.
Monday’s initial ruling comes weeks after the Trump administration agreed to allow Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to sell some of their sought-after AI chips to Chinese companies. However, Beijing has since pushed local companies and agencies to avoid Nvidia’s H20 accelerator, citing security concerns.
It’s unclear what impact the Beijing regulator’s announcement would exert on talks in Madrid. The first day of negotiations lasted almost six hours, according to a senior Treasury official, spanning topics from TikTok to trade and the global economy.
ByteDance’s popular app faces a deadline this week to reach an agreement to ensure it continues operations in the US.
Officials were also expected to lay the groundwork for a potential in-person meeting between Trump and Xi as soon as October, when they’re scheduled to attend a summit in South Korea.
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