Chinese nationals charged with exporting Nvidia AI chips to China

Two Chinese nationals have been arrested in the United States for allegedly exporting advanced artificial intelligence chips to China without the required licenses. The US Department of Justice announced that Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang, who worked for a California-based company called ALX Solutions, were charged with illegally shipping millions of dollars' worth of Nvidia AI chips to China over the past three years. These chips, including Nvidia's H100 graphics processing units, are among the most powerful in the world and are subject to strict US export controls. The US government has placed tight restrictions on the export of such technology to China, fearing that it could be used to boost China's AI capabilities and military technology. According to court documents, ALX Solutions had three known employees: Mr. Geng, who managed the company's finances, Ms. Yang, who served as secretary, and an unnamed chief executive. The documents state that all three had full authority over the company's decisions and shipments. Mr. Geng was a permanent resident of California, while Ms. Yang had overstayed her visa and was living in the US illegally. The DOJ alleges that ALX Solutions shipped the restricted chips from the US to shipping companies in Singapore and Malaysia between October 2022 and July 2025. These countries are often used as transit points to disguise the final destination of goods, in this case, China. The company did not receive payments from the shipping firms but was instead paid by companies based in Hong Kong and China. One payment from a Chinese company in January 2024 was worth one million dollars.

In December, ALX Solutions sent a shipment containing Nvidia's H100 and GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs, which was inspected by US customs. The company had not applied for or received the necessary export licenses from the US Commerce Department. In one instance, ALX Solutions claimed that a shipment worth over 28 million dollars was destined for a customer in Singapore. However, US officials could not verify that the chips arrived in Singapore, and the supposed customer did not exist at the listed address. The court documents suggest that ALX Solutions was actually sending the chips to different end users, likely in China. Nvidia, the company that makes the chips, said it only sells to trusted partners and follows all US export rules. Nvidia also stated that any chips sent illegally would not receive support or updates. Super Micro Computer, a supplier of Nvidia chips, said it is committed to following US export laws and will cooperate with authorities.

Ms. Yang was arrested on Saturday, and Mr. Geng turned himself in soon after. Both appeared in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison. ALX Solutions does not appear to have a website, but a related company, ALX-Cloud, claims to be a subsidiary. The BBC was unable to contact lawyers for Mr. Geng and Ms. Yang. This case highlights the ongoing struggle between the US and China over access to advanced technology. The US is determined to prevent China from acquiring cutting-edge AI chips, which are seen as crucial for both economic and military power. The case also shows how some companies try to get around export controls by using third countries as transit points. The US government is increasing its efforts to monitor and stop illegal shipments of sensitive technology. This case serves as a warning to others who might consider breaking export laws. The outcome of the trial could have significant implications for future technology exports and US-China relations.