US president Donald Trump and China president Xi Jinping.

Beijing warns that U.S. export controls hinder Chinese companies like Huawei from developing their own AI chips.

China is seeking U.S. relief on export controls for chips vital to artificial intelligence as part of a trade deal ahead of a possible summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, News.Az reports citing the Financial Times.

Chinese officials have told experts in Washington that Beijing wants the Trump administration to relax export restrictions on high-bandwidth memory chips, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

The White House, State Department and China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

HBM chips, which help perform data-intensive AI tasks quickly, are closely watched by investors due to their use alongside AI graphic processors, particularly Nvidia’s.

The FT said China is concerned because US HBM controls hamper the ability of Chinese companies such as Huawei to develop their own AI chips.

Successive US administrations have curbed exports of advanced chips to China, looking to stymie Beijing’s AI and defence development.

While this has impacted US firms’ ability to fully address booming demand from China, one of the world’s largest semiconductor markets, it still remains an important revenue driver for American chipmakers. – Reuters.

News.Az