China: Nvidia Violating Monopoly Laws  09/15 06:10

   

   LONDON (AP) -- China accused Nvidia on Monday of violating the country's 
antimonopoly laws and said it would step up scrutiny of the world's leading 
chipmaker, escalating tensions with Washington as the two countries hold trade 
talks this week.

   Chinese regulators said they would carry out "further investigation" into 
Nvidia after a preliminary investigation found that the company breached 
regulations when it made a years-old acquisition.

   The one-sentence statement from the State Administration for Market 
Regulation statement said the investigation centered on Nvidia's purchase of 
network and data transmission company Mellanox Technologies.

   Nvidia didn't respond immediately to a request for comment.

   Regulators said last year that they were investigating the company for 
suspected violations stemming from the $6.9 billion acquisition of Mellanox 
that was completed in 2020.

   The decision ratchets up pressure on the U.S. as officials from Washington 
hold trade talks in Spain with Beijing's representatives, and follows other 
moves by Beijing to increase scrutiny of the U.S. chip industry.

   On Saturday, China's Ministry of Commerce said it was carrying out an 
antidumping investigation into certain analog IC chips imported from the U.S., 
including commodity chips commonly made by companies such as Texas Instruments 
and ON Semiconductor.

   The ministry also announced a separate antidiscrimination probe into U.S. 
measures against China's chip sector.

   In talks scheduled to run from Sunday to Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary 
Scott Bessent is meeting Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in Madrid for 
negotiations on tariffs and national security issues related to the ownership 
of social media platform TikTok.

   It's the fourth round of discussions after meetings in London, Geneva and 
Stockholm. The two governments have agreed to several 90-day pauses on a series 
of increasing reciprocal tariffs, staving off an all-out trade war.

   Santa Clara, Calif.-based Nvidia, the world's most valuable semiconductor 
maker, has become central to the U.S.-China trade war, as the two sides battle 
for tech supremacy.

   The company has faced restrictions on chip exports to China imposed by 
President Joe Biden's administration that were then reinforced by President 
Donald Trump.