When Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang revealed Friday that the company is working with the Trump administration on a new computer chip designed for sale to China, it marked the latest chapter in a long-running debate over how the U.S. should compete with China’s technological ambitions.

The reasoning has sometimes changed — with U.S. officials citing national security, human rights or purely economic competition — but the tool has been the same: export controls, or the threat of them.

Nvidia believes it can eventually reap $50 billion from artificial intelligence chip sales in China. But it so far has been held back by restrictions imposed by President Joe Biden’s administration and then reinforced by President Donald Trump before negotiating a quid pro quo deal.

How did these chip export contro

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