摘要：The timing of the reopening, ahead of a scheduled meeting between the two countries' presidents, suggests the investigations may b
(Image credit: Photo by Lin Zhijia, AGI Editor at TMTPost)
TMTPOST — China has reopened its antitrust investigations into Google and Nvidia for potential violations of competition laws and is considering launching a similar probe against Intel, The Financial Times (FT) reported.
These investigations could lead to significant fines or restrictions on market access, but they are believed to be tied to escalating trade tensions between China and the U.S.
The timing of the reopening, ahead of a scheduled meeting between the two countries' presidents, suggests the investigations may be leveraged for diplomatic negotiations.
The investigation into Google focuses on its Android operating system and whether it unfairly disadvantages Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Oppo and Xiaomi, which rely on Google’s software for their devices. Regulators are scrutinizing whether Google’s market dominance harms these companies. This investigation, initially launched in 2019 but paused, was resumed in December, and officials from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) visited Google’s Beijing office in January.
Reuters reports that revenue from China only accounts for 1% of Google's global sales.
Meanwhile, Nvidia is under investigation for violating commitments made during its 2019 acquisition of Mellanox Technologies. The acquisition was approved by Chinese authorities in 2020 under conditions aimed at preventing monopolistic practices and ensuring a stable supply to Chinese customers. However, shortly after approval, the authority began collecting complaints from the industry, though it remains unclear if enough evidence of anticompetitive behavior has been gathered.
The possible investigation into Intel remains less certain, with no official confirmation of its initiation. If launched, the probe could examine Intel's business practices in China, where it holds a dominant share of the CPU market.
These actions coincide with mounting U.S.-China trade friction. U.S. president Donald Trump imposed new 10% tariffs against Chinese goods on February 1, and China's response may include using antitrust measures as leverage.
As the U.S. intensifies efforts to curb China’s development in AI and HPC sectors, the investigations into these U.S. tech giants may serve as a countermeasure. However, experts warn that while this strategy might aid negotiations, it also carries risks, as both Chinese companies depend on American technologies and vice versa.
Google and Nvidia have declined to comment, while Intel has not responded to inquiries. China's competition regulators and the Ministry of Commerce have also remained silent on the matter, according to the FT report.
It is a global trend for regulatory bodies to strengthen antitrust oversight of large internet companies, said Sun Nanxiang, a researcher at the Competition Law Research Center of the Institute of International Law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The core essence of antitrust is to use legal tools to maintain a fair competitive market order, enhance the international competitiveness of market entities, and stimulate market vitality, Sun added.
Intel has been operating in China for 40 years since establishing its first representative office in Beijing in 1985. Currently, China has become Intel's largest investment market outside the United States, with the most comprehensive institutional setup. Nearly a quarter of Intel's global revenue of over $50 billion comes from the Chinese market.
The company’s latest financial report shows that in the 2024 fiscal year, Intel's global revenue was $53.1 billion, a 2% decrease year on year; the gross margin was 32.7%, down 7.3 percentage points from the previous year due to impairments, revenue declines, and inventory impacts in the third quarter.
The proportion of Intel's revenue from the Chinese market reached as high as 29% in 2024, surpassing that of the U.S. sales region. Its financial report shows that in 2024, Intel's revenue in the China region reached $15.532 billion, a 4.6% increase from $14.854 billion in 2023, accounting for 29.2% of the total.
On October 16, 2024, following a statement by the China Cyberspace Security Association calling for a systematic review of cybersecurity risks associated with Intel products, Intel announced on October 28 that it would increase the registered capital of Intel Products (Chengdu) Ltd. by $300 million.
This investment will expand its existing client product packaging and testing operations to include facilities for server chip packaging and testing, as well as establish a Customer Solution Center. These efforts aim to enhance the packaging and testing base located in Chengdu High-Tech Zone, improve the local supply chain, and strengthen support for Chinese customers.
Currently, Intel has also jumped on the bandwagon of DeepSeek AI. Recently, Intel revealed that its AI PC devices equipped with Core Ultra processors and its "customized" Gaudi 2D AI accelerator chips have been optimized for the DeepSeek model.
This allows AI developers to deploy and optimize complex tasks at lower costs and higher efficiency, effectively meeting the industry's demand for inference computing power. It provides robust support for the implementation and large-scale development of AI applications.
As for the antitrust investigations targeting major U.S. tech companies, these could result in fines linked to their global revenues or even the loss of market access in one of their largest international markets.
Cui Fan, a professor at the School of International Trade and Economics at the University of International Business and Economics, said that in the coming period, the Chinese government may dynamically adjust its countermeasures based on further actions taken by the United States.
来源：钛媒体
