U.S.-China talks leave chips untouched

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday, May 15, that semiconductor export controls were not a major topic in talks with Chinese officials in Beijing, leaving one of the most sensitive parts of the U.S.-China technology dispute largely untouched. Greer told Bloomberg TV that the issue did not feature prominently even as President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping used their two-day summit to discuss trade, artificial intelligence and Iran. Reuters reported on May 15 that the comments suggested no near-term breakthrough on broader chip restrictions. The limited attention to chips stood out because export controls have been one of Washington’s main tools for slowing China’s access to advanced semiconductors and related AI capacity. ### If chips were not central, what did Greer actually say? Jamieson Greer told Bloomberg TV on May 15, “We did not talk about chip export controls at the meeting,” according to Bloomberg Law’s account of the interview. Reuters, in a separate report carried by Yahoo Finance and other outlets, said Greer described chip controls as not a major topic of discussion with Chinese officials in Beijing. Those remarks narrowed expectations that the summit might produce an immediate easing of U.S. semiconductor restrictions. (finance.yahoo.com) Friday’s comments came after two days of meetings in Beijing between U.S. and Chinese officials. Chinese Foreign Ministry readouts said Xi and Trump met at the Great Hall of the People on May 14 and discussed bilateral ties and broader security issues. Public summaries from the summit emphasized trade and strategic issues more than export-control detail. ### Why does that matter for the current chip dispute? (news.bloomberglaw.com) Since 2018, the United States has tightened export controls aimed at restricting China’s access to advanced semiconductors, chipmaking equipment and related technologies, according to a Congressional Research Service report updated in 2025. The CRS report said the policy is intended to preserve U.S. advantages in advanced chips and AI-related computing while limiting China’s ability to develop competing capabilities. (mfa.gov.cn) That makes any sign of movement on chip controls closely watched by companies and investors. Nvidia has become the clearest commercial test of that policy. Reuters reported on May 14 that the United States had cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia’s H200 chips, but no deliveries had taken place so far. Lenovo told Reuters it was among the companies approved to sell H200 in China as part of Nvidia’s export license, while the U.S. Commerce Department declined comment. (congress.gov) ### Did the Trump-Xi summit produce anything else concrete? The May 14-15 summit produced public claims of progress on stabilizing ties, but not a broad reset. AP reported that Trump and Xi said they had made progress in stabilizing relations even as differences remained. Chinese state accounts said the two leaders discussed economic cooperation and major geopolitical issues during Trump’s state visit. (cnbc.com) Analysts quoted ahead of the summit had already set modest expectations. Channel NewsAsia, citing analysts before the meeting, said the real test would be whether the summit created durable mechanisms rather than a headline breakthrough. That framing matched the official outcome more than any idea of a sweeping agreement on technology controls. (usnews.com) ### What does this leave unresolved for companies? Nvidia’s H200 case shows the gap between approval and delivery. Reuters reported that export licenses had been granted for around 10 Chinese firms, but shipments had not begun as of May 14. That means companies still face uncertainty not only over whether licenses will be issued, but also over how approvals are implemented in practice. (channelnewsasia.com) For manufacturers that depend on cross-border technology flows, the unresolved status of chip controls keeps a politically sensitive risk in place. The Reuters report on Greer’s comments said the lack of focus on export controls meant any broader breakthrough on selling Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips to China remained far away. That leaves semiconductor and industrial supply chains watching licensing decisions more closely than summit language. (usnews.com) ### What should readers watch next? The next concrete marker is whether the approved H200 licenses turn into actual shipments. Reuters reported on May 14 that no deliveries had been made despite U.S. clearance for about 10 Chinese firms, including companies linked to Nvidia’s China business. Any update from the U.S. Commerce Department, Nvidia, Lenovo or Chinese regulators would provide a clearer measure of whether the Beijing talks changed anything in practice. (finance.yahoo.com) (cnbc.com)