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Chinese Military Sought Nvidia Chips for Years, Report Says

An analysis of six years of procurement records suggests that the People’s Liberation Army has openly tried to acquire restricted U.S. technology.

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Ana Swanson reported from Washington, and Tripp Mickle from San Francisco.

June 1, 2026阅读简体中文版閱讀繁體中文版

Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, has said China’s military doesn’t rely on chips from his California-based company. But an analysis of six years of Chinese records shows that China’s military has been openly seeking Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips since 2019.

Chinese records reviewed by Wirescreen, a software platform that provides information about Chinese companies, showed that the People’s Liberation Army has stepped up its efforts to acquire artificial intelligence chips, even after the U.S. government restricted semiconductor sales to foreign adversaries including China.

The records document instances when suppliers agreed to deliver those chips under the military’s terms, but they do not document the final delivery. Nevertheless, John Costello, the Wirescreen analyst who wrote the report, said the data showed “directly and irrefutably” that U.S. technology was equipping the Chinese military.

“What number of advanced Nvidia chips in P.L.A. hands does the company consider acceptable?” he asked.

The report draws on a larger pool of data than previously examined and shows how China adapted to and tried to circumvent U.S. technology restrictions in recent years.

Wirescreen examined 3,800 procurement records related to high-end chips and computing. It discovered more than 500 instances when various units of the Chinese military sought Nvidia chips either by name or technical specification.

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By Ana Swanson and Tripp Mickle

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