A chip export loophole is at the center of a fresh dispute over how effectively Washington is actually policing advanced AI hardware headed toward China. At issue is Aivres, a California-based server maker that is a subsidiary of Inspur Group — a Chinese firm that has been on the US Entity List since 2023. Because Aivres itself was never added to that list, it has been able to legally export advanced Nvidia chips to Southeast Asia, where Chinese companies including ByteDance and Alibaba have reportedly gained access to them anyway.
What the loophole looks like in practice
According to a New York Times investigation cited by Asia Times’ reporting, Aivres exported $5.6 billion in advanced technology to Southeast Asia between April 2024 and February 2026, including more than $3 billion in computers equipped with Nvidia’s most advanced Blackwell chips. Because the export controls target the blacklisted parent company rather than every entity connected to it, the shipments were technically legal even as the hardware ultimately found its way to restricted end users. Inspur’s own stock fell 3.8% on the news, closing at 74.74 yuan (about $11.13).
The policy this loophole is exploiting
The loophole sits inside a broader chip export framework that critics say was already built with gaps. The Commerce Department’s January 13, 2026 regulations, implementing a policy President Trump announced on December 8, permit exports of Nvidia H200 and AMD MI325X chips that were previously banned outright, subject to performance thresholds and a cap limiting exports to 50% of the volume sold to US customers. Analysis from the Council on Foreign Relations estimates the rule could allow roughly one million H200 chips into China annually — potentially lifting China’s AI compute capacity by 250% relative to domestic chips alone — and warns that the certification requirements exporters must meet will be difficult to enforce given the documented military ties of likely buyers such as Alibaba, Tencent and DeepSeek.
Timed to a high-stakes summit
The loophole story broke just as Xi Jinping traveled to the United States on September 24, 2026, coinciding with the UN General Assembly, for the first official US-China AI dialogue of Trump’s second term. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent led the American delegation into those talks, which were meant to set ground rules for exactly this kind of technology transfer — making the Aivres revelations an awkward backdrop for negotiators on both sides.
Congress is trying to close the gap
Two bills aim to plug loopholes like this one. The Remote Access Security Act (RASA) passed the House 369-22 in January 2026 and would extend export controls to remote access, preventing foreign firms from circumventing restrictions by simply renting computing power located overseas rather than shipping hardware outright. The Chip Security Act cleared the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March 2026. Neither has yet become law, leaving exactly the kind of subsidiary-level workaround Aivres used unaddressed for now.
What happens next
Expect scrutiny of Aivres and similar server integrators to intensify, along with pressure on Commerce to either add subsidiaries automatically when a parent company is blacklisted or to fast-track RASA and the Chip Security Act through the Senate. Until one of those changes happens, the current framework leaves room for exactly the kind of technically-legal, practically-circumventing shipments this loophole describes.
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Chip export loophole questions answered
What is the Aivres chip export loophole?
Aivres, a California-based server maker owned by blacklisted Chinese firm Inspur Group, was never itself added to the US Entity List, letting it legally export advanced Nvidia chips to Southeast Asia even though the hardware reportedly reached companies like Alibaba and ByteDance.
How much technology did Aivres export?
A New York Times investigation found Aivres exported $5.6 billion in advanced technology to Southeast Asia between April 2024 and February 2026, including more than $3 billion in computers equipped with Nvidia’s Blackwell chips.
What does current US policy allow?
Since January 13, 2026, Commerce Department rules allow exports of Nvidia H200 and AMD MI325X chips to China under performance thresholds and a cap limiting shipments to 50% of the volume sold to US customers.
What legislation is meant to close loopholes like this?
The Remote Access Security Act (RASA), which passed the House 369-22 in January 2026, and the Chip Security Act, which cleared a House committee in March 2026. Neither has passed the Senate yet.
Why did this surface now?
The loophole story broke as Xi Jinping traveled to the US on September 24, 2026 for the first official US-China AI dialogue of Trump’s second term, led on the US side by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Sources
- Asia Times — Nvidia chip export loophole clouds US-China AI summit talks. https://asiatimes.com/2026/09/nvidia-chip-export-loophole-clouds-us-china-ai-summit-talks/
- Council on Foreign Relations — The New AI Chip Export Policy to China: Strategically Incoherent and Unenforceable. https://www.cfr.org/articles/new-ai-chip-export-policy-china-strategically-incoherent-and-unenforceable