Chinese Whispers Have America's chips controls backfired?
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Feb 10, 2025 
In this discussion, Ryan Fedasiuk, U.S. Director of The Future Society and former U.S.-China advisor, teams up with Steve Hsu, theoretical physicist and host of Manifold. They explore the impacts of U.S. semiconductor export controls on China, debating whether these measures truly widen the tech gap or inadvertently boost Chinese innovation. The duo dives into the complexities of the semiconductor landscape, challenges faced by Chinese AI firms, and the geopolitical implications of AI competition between the two nations.
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Export Control Risks
- US export controls risk pushing China to develop its own tech, hurting US companies.
- This happened with semiconductors; China now dominates the mature chip market.
Huawei Executive's Reaction to Sanctions
- Cindy Yu spoke with a Huawei executive in Shenzhen.
- The executive smugly said US sanctions helped them by pushing them to use Chinese suppliers.
Effectiveness of Export Controls
- Ryan Fedasiuk believes export controls have slowed China's AI progress, increasing their development costs.
- DeepSeek's success with their sophisticated AI model was due to stockpiled NVIDIA chips.