Chinese state media says Nvidia H20 chips not safe for China

BEIJING (Reuters): Nvidia’s H20 chips pose security concerns for China, a social media account affiliated with China’s state media said on Sunday, after Beijing raised concerns over backdoor access in those chips.

The H20 chips are also not technologically advanced or environmentally friendly, the account, Yuyuan Tantian, which is affiliated with state broadcaster CCTV, said in an article published on WeChat.

“When a type of chip is neither environmentally friendly, nor advanced, nor safe, as consumers, we certainly have the option not to buy it,” the article concluded.

Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. H20 artificial intelligence chips were developed by Nvidia for the Chinese market after the US imposed export restrictions on advanced AI chips in late 2023.

The administration of US President Donald Trump banned their sales in April amid escalating trade tensions with China, but reversed the ban in July. China’s cyberspace watchdog said on July 31 that it had summoned Nvidia to a meeting, asking the US chipmaker to explain whether its H20 chips had any backdoor security risks — a hidden method of bypassing normal authentication or security controls.

Nvidia later said its products had no “backdoors” that would allow remote access or control.

In its article, Yuyuan Tantian said Nvidia chips could achieve functions including “remote shutdown” through a hardware “backdoor.”

Yuyuan Tantian’s comment followed criticism against Nvidia by People’s Daily, another Chinese state media outlet. In a commentary earlier this month, People’s Daily said Nvidia must produce “convincing security proofs” to eliminate Chinese users’ worries over security risks in its chips and regain market trust.