China extends US tariff exemptions

China's finance ministry said yesterday it would extend tariff exemptions for the import of some US products until Feb 28, 2025.

It's the 15th time the country released a document to extend tariff exemptions since 2020. These tariffs are a way to get back at American Section 301 tariffs, which have been imposed on a wide range of commodities from China since August 2018.

The products on the exemption list include parts for autopilot, semiconductor sensors, lithium batteries and more.

In other news, Nvidia is working on a version of its new flagship AI chips for the China market that would be compatible with current US export controls, three sources familiar with the matter said.

The AI chip giant in March unveiled its Blackwell chip series, which is due to be mass produced later in the year. Within that series, the B200 is 30 times speedier than its predecessor at some tasks like serving up answers from chatbots.

Nvidia will work with Inspur, one of its major distributor partners in China, on the launch and distribution of the chip, which is tentatively named the "B20", two of the sources said.

Washington tightened its controls on exports of cutting-edge semiconductors to China in 2023, seeking to prevent breakthroughs in supercomputing that would aid China's military.

Since then, Nvidia has developed three chips tailored specifically for the Chinese market.

June Chen and Reuters