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Nvidia unveiled its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, revealing a significant leap in profits, with its quarterly revenue growing 265 percent year-on-year to reach $22.1 billion.
But the company faces challenges in Chinese market due to US export restrictions, resulting in a notable decline in data center sales in China.
Nvidia said it is committed to staying in the Chinese market, "We reset our product offerings to China, and now we're sampling to customers in China. We are going to do our best to compete in that marketplace and succeed in that marketplace," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated during a Wednesday earnings call, highlighting the company's strategy to adapt to Washington's new regulatory environment.
In response to the export controls, Nvidia has seen a significant shift in its Chinese market dynamics, with data center revenue from China seeing merely a single-digit percentage of the company's total data center revenue.
Despite the challenges, Nvidia's data center business revenues globally have seen a 217 percent year-on-year growth, reaching $18.4 billion on the year, driven by high demand for AI applications and its partnerships with tech giants such as Google and Amazon, as well as China's Baidu.
As the US restricts high-end AI chip exports to China, China will look for other replaceable domestically-made chips, gradually reducing the reliance on Nvidia products, Liang Zhenpeng, a Beijing-based industry analyst, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Chinese mainland chip enterprises' replacement of Nvidia chips now mainly lies in the low to mid-end areas. For chips that are stronger in performance and have better nanometer numbers, such as 3nm and 5nm, they still cannot be produced independently, Liang said.
Experts noted that the US limitations on semiconductor exports to China disrupt normal economic and trade interactions. These restrictions are likely to affect not just the commercial sector but also infringe upon the interests of regular consumers in the civilian market.
Nvidia's engagement with the Chinese market extends beyond navigating trade restrictions. CEO Jensen Huang visited Nvidia's offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen before the Chinese Lunar New Year, his first in several years, signals the company's support for its Chinese operations.
China remains an indispensable market for global semiconductor manufacturers. The Ministry of Commerce spokesperson He Yadong addressed inquiries from international media about Nvidia chips on January 18, stating, "China is one of the world's leading semiconductor markets. We welcome semiconductor companies and products from all countries to enter China, to share opportunities and achieve mutual development."
Data from the General Administration of Customs of China indicates a significant decline in China's semiconductor imports, falling 15.4 percent in 2023 compared with 2022, as the country advances towards semiconductor self-reliance in the face of US restrictions.