The US House Select Committee on China has also flagged serious concerns over the reported use of US-sourced Nvidia chips by China’s surveillance systems on Uyghur Muslims as well as creating the AI chatbot DeepSeek.
In a report published on April 16, the committee alleges the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) makes use of sophisticated chips to drive a surveillance system that monitors Uyghurs via cameras, facial recognition, and biometric information. The systems are said to trigger Chinese authorities over “suspicious” activity such as “growing a beard or WhatsApp messaging.”
The CCP uses advanced chips to monitor Uyghur Muslims through cameras, facial recognition, and biometric data.
These systems flag “suspicious” behavior—like growing a beard or using WhatsApp—and are used to track women of childbearing age for forced sterilization. https://t.co/aC1MSYfxVc
— Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (@committeeonccp) April 18, 2025
The committee also charged Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang with exploiting regulatory loopholes to ship advanced chips to China. The report claimed, “China built its chatbot DeepSeek with more than 60,000 Nvidia chips.”
Committee Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) emphasized the national security risks, saying, “We now know this tool exploited US AI models and reportedly used advanced Nvidia chips that should never have ended up in CCP hands. That’s why we’re sending a letter to Nvidia to demand answers. American innovation should never be the engine of our adversaries’ ambitions.”
DeepSeek AI Raises Red Flags on Censorship, Privacy, and Foreign Control
The committee detailed four major concerns around DeepSeek’s links to the CCP:
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Censorship: Over 85% of DeepSeek’s responses are reportedly aligned with CCP narratives, especially suppressing content about democracy, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and human rights.
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Foreign Control: The AI system is said to be operated by a company ideologically aligned with “Xi Jinping Thought” and maintains close ties to the CCP.
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Data Privacy: DeepSeek’s infrastructure allegedly collaborates with firms like ByteDance, Tencent, Baidu, and China Mobile—all known for sharing user data with the state.
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Nvidia’s Role: The committee claimed Huang directed Nvidia to design modified chips after October 2023 to sidestep US restrictions. The Trump administration is now moving to close this regulatory loophole.
Trump Administration Weighs DeepSeek Ban
According to a recent report by The New York Times, the Trump administration is mulling banning DeepSeek in the US on the basis of national security risks. The administration is also considering banning the company from gaining access to US-manufactured technologies, particularly Nvidia chips.
Nvidia CEO Meets Chinese Officials Amid Trade Tensions
In a move to de-escalate tensions, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently traveled to China and held meetings with top officials, including Vice Premier He Lifeng. In spite of Washington’s banning of Nvidia’s H20 AI chips, which cost the firm $5.5 billion, Huang reiterated devotion to the Chinese market.
While speaking with China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) chairman Ren Hongbin, Huang declared that Nvidia would keep interacting with Chinese companies irrespective of the economic effect of constant US-China trade tensions.
