Beijing has opened a competition investigation into the American chipmaker Nvidia Corporation, days after Washington imposed extra export controls on Beijing’s access to advanced semiconductors.
In a brief statement on Monday night, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said it was scrutinising Nvidia over potential violations of the terms of regulatory approval four years ago for its acquisition of an Israeli company.
Nvidia completed what was its biggest acquisition in 2019 when it paid $7 billion for Mellanox Technologies and the deal was conditionally approved by Chinese regulators, subject to supply conditions to the country and commitments to local customers.
Last week the US bolstered export controls that were first applied by President Biden’s administration in 2022, blocking the sale to China of advanced artificial