U.S. export controls restrict Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips from being shipped to China, but Chinese companies may still access their computing power through data centers in other countries.
The issue has gained attention as Chinese firms release increasingly capable AI models. In July, White House official Michael Kratsios accused Moonshot AI of using Nvidia GB300 chips through a facility in Thailand after the launch of its Kimi K3 model.
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How Chinese Firms Access Chips Abroad
Current U.S. rules primarily restrict the physical shipment and ownership of advanced AI chips, rather than remote access to computing power hosted overseas.
Cassia King of the Institute for AI Policy and Strategy told CNBC that Moonshot’s reported access through Thailand could be legal if the company did not own the physical hardware.
Chinese firms including ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have reportedly accessed Nvidia-powered infrastructure remotely through Thailand, Malaysia and Japan. ByteDance was also reportedly working with Singapore-based cloud provider Aolani to access Nvidia-powered computing in Malaysia.
Southeast Asia’s Growing Data Center Market
The development comes as data center construction accelerates across Southeast Asia. JLL estimates that global data center capacity could nearly double to 200GW by 2030, while DC Byte has identified 31 planned data centers of at least 100MW across Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
That expanding infrastructure could give Chinese companies greater access to advanced computing without moving restricted chips into China.
Proposed Law Could Close The Gap
The proposed Remote Access Security Act would extend U.S. export controls to remote cloud access to critical hardware and software. It passed the House in January but still needs Senate approval.
Michelle Nie of the Center for a New American Security said the loophole undermines the goal of restricting China’s access to advanced U.S. chips.
However, legislation alone would not immediately solve the problem. Regulators would still need to determine which computing resources are restricted, who can access them and how cloud providers should verify customers.
According to King, creating rules could be done quickly with White House support, but making them effective and enforceable would be the bigger challenge.
