The comments, published Sunday on Yuyuan Tantian—a social media account linked to state broadcaster CCTV—come after Beijing’s cyberspace regulator questioned Nvidia last month over potential “backdoor” vulnerabilities in the H20. Such backdoors, in security terms, are hidden mechanisms that could bypass normal authentication or controls, potentially allowing remote access or shutdown.
“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 Yuyuan Tantian article concluded.
Background to the Dispute
The H20 was designed specifically for the Chinese market after the U.S. imposed export restrictions on advanced AI chips in late 2023. Those restrictions aimed to limit China’s access to the most powerful processors used in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing.
In April, the Trump administration halted H20 sales to China amid rising trade tensions, but reversed the decision in July, granting Nvidia permission to resume shipments.
On July 31, China’s Cyberspace Administration summoned Nvidia officials to explain whether the H20 contained any hidden security risks. Nvidia denied the allegations at the time, stating its products have no backdoors that could be exploited for remote control or shutdown—and reiterated that position on Sunday in response to the Yuyuan Tantian post.
Mounting State Media Criticism
Yuyuan Tantian’s remarks follow earlier criticism from People’s Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, which urged Nvidia to provide “convincing security proofs” to address market concerns. Without such assurances, People’s Daily warned, Nvidia risked losing trust among Chinese customers.
The growing scrutiny from Chinese state media suggests the H20’s market prospects in China could be complicated by political as well as commercial factors—even as U.S. export policy toward the chip remains fluid.