As Trump courts a more assertive Beijing, China hawks are losing out

In recent years, one of China‘s biggest requests of US officials has been that the United States relax its strict controls on advanced artificial intelligence chips, measures that were put in place to slow Beijing’s technological and military gains.

Last week, the Trump administration did just that, as it allowed the world’s leader in AI chips, US-based Nvidia, to begin selling a lower-level but still coveted chip known as H20 to China.

The move was a dramatic reversal from three months ago, when President Donald Trump banned China from accessing the…