US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on 3 September that China has not accepted President Donald Trump's offer to sell it advanced American artificial intelligence chips, and argued that further relaxation of technology export controls is therefore unnecessary. Lutnick made the remarks at a joint press conference with White House science advisor Michael Kratsios following the G20 Innovation Ministerial in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

The Offer China Did Not Take

Lutnick confirmed that Trump had extended an offer to sell H200 chips and equivalent video chips — including those from AMD and other manufacturers — to Beijing. However, China expressed reservations and did not purchase the chips. “President Trump made an offer to sell H200 chips and video chips to China, and they’re equivalent from AMD and others,” Lutnick said. “And the Chinese haven’t really taken it up.”

Asked whether easing export controls could be on the table during an anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Lutnick was unequivocal. “I don’t think so,” he said, adding: “The president showed an olive branch, and it hasn’t been taken up, so I think we’re just gonna let it go.”

Export Control Enforcement: A Game of Whack-a-Mole

Lutnick acknowledged that enforcing technology export restrictions has grown significantly more complex, as companies and governments increasingly use remote access and multiple intermediaries to obtain restricted computing power. “So we play in export controls a bit of whack-a-mole,” he said, describing a layered process in which a data centre could be leased to one company, which then sub-leases access through other entities until the computing power ultimately reaches an adversary.

He said artificial intelligence could itself become a tool for American authorities to better monitor users of US data centres and tighten enforcement of technology restrictions. “The tools of AI will make this better and better and better,” Lutnick said. This comes amid longstanding US concerns that adversaries are exploiting indirect procurement channels to circumvent semiconductor export bans.

China’s Presence at G20 Meeting

Lutnick also dismissed suggestions that the attendance of a Chinese vice-minister at the G20 Innovation Ministerial had raised security concerns, given longstanding US allegations of intellectual property theft by Chinese entities. “No, the president invited them, and I think it went quite well,” he said.

America’s AI Expansion Push

Both Lutnick and Kratsios used the occasion to emphasise Washington’s intent to expand the global footprint of American AI technology. Kratsios said the Trump administration wanted to share US chips, models, and applications with partners, friends, and allies. Lutnick added that individual countries would choose between frontier proprietary systems and open-weight models based on their own requirements and economic calculations. “That will be decided country by country,” he said.

He warned that nations slow to adopt AI risk being left behind. “If you don’t do that, then you’ll be left behind,” Lutnick said. “So you’ll see whoever doesn’t embrace it a year or two years from today will just be chasing those who didn’t.” The United States has used export controls to restrict China’s access to advanced semiconductors and chip-manufacturing equipment, citing risks to Beijing’s military and surveillance capabilities. Whether the stalled chip offer reshapes that calculus ahead of a potential Trump-Xi summit remains to be seen.