A financial entity linked to the Chinese government financed the acquisition of servers equipped with Nvidia artificial intelligence (AI) chips, which are subject to trade restrictions imposed by the United States. This operation, discovered through Chinese regulatory records analyzed by Bloomberg, demonstrates the involvement of state entities in supporting the country's AI infrastructure.
The financing was provided by Semi-Tech Leasing Group Co. and enabled Glory View Technology Co., a company focused on developing AI infrastructure, to acquire more than 700 servers. Among the items purchased was a batch of 32 servers manufactured by Asus and equipped with Nvidia's B300 Blackwell chips. This transaction was registered with the People's Bank of China.
Despite the modest number of Blackwell processor servers documented, the incident points to loopholes in the trade restrictions established by the United States, aimed at limiting China's access to advanced computing technologies. Nvidia informed Bloomberg that it is conducting an investigation with partners responsible for equipment manufacturing. For its part, Asus reaffirmed its commitment to international export control standards.
The documents also indicated that Semi-Tech Leasing resubmitted credit records after an initial review. In subsequent versions sent to Chinese credit registries, specific descriptions of the equipment, details about suppliers, and server model designations were omitted. Such modifications complicate the precise identification of the supply chain involved in these activities, especially during the period of rapid expansion of AI infrastructure in China.
This case illustrates how hardware leasing and financing processes can open avenues for obtaining sophisticated equipment, even when trade restrictions are imposed by the United States. The original article on the topic was initially published in Olhar Digital.