Chinese universities with military ties acquired Super Micro servers with sanctioned Nvidia AI chips

Chinese Universities With Military Ties Bypass US Export Controls

Four Chinese universities acquired Super Micro servers containing restricted Nvidia A100 chips over the past year, according to publicly available procurement documents reviewed by Reuters 4

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. Among the buyers were Beihang University and Harbin Institute of Technology, both part of China's "Seven Sons of National Defense" institutions with deep connections to the People's Liberation Army 1

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. The acquisitions occurred despite US export controls implemented in October 2022 that specifically banned the sale of Nvidia AI chips like the A100 to China due to concerns about enhancing military capabilities.

Military Research Institutions Obtained Advanced AI Hardware

Beihang University, located in Beijing and known for aerospace and defense research, procured a machine-learning workstation built on a Super Micro system configured with four Nvidia A100 chips in March 2025, according to a procurement notice 4

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. Meanwhile, Harbin Institute of Technology, which focuses on missile, satellite, and robotics technologies, acquired a Super Micro server containing eight A100 GPUs in July 2025 1

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. Both universities are already on the Entity List maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security, making it extremely difficult for US companies to legally secure export licenses to supply them 2

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Connection to $2.5 Billion AI Server Smuggling Operation

The timing of these revelations is particularly sensitive given recent arrests in a massive AI server smuggling operation. Last week, Yih-Shyan "Wally" Liaw, Super Micro's co-founder and former board member, was arrested along with two others for allegedly smuggling U.S. AI technology worth at least $2.5 billion to China 3

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. The conspirators allegedly used transshipment schemes involving resellers and shell companies in Southeast Asia, where servers were repackaged with dummy servers and issued fake documentation before being forwarded to their final destinations in China 1

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. Super Micro was not named as a defendant and maintains it was the victim of an elaborate scheme carried out by the individuals 2

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Lawmakers Push for Stricter Export License Controls

US Senators Jim Banks and Elizabeth Warren have written to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick urging him to suspend the issuance of export licenses to China and its intermediaries until the issue of violating export controls has been resolved 1

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. Jacob Feldgoise, senior data research analyst at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology, warned that such acquisitions "may in turn help improve China's weapons design and testing, military planning and logistics, autonomous weapons systems, or surveillance" 4

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. The situation creates significant uncertainty for tech companies navigating geopolitical tensions, particularly as the Trump administration recently greenlighted sales of Nvidia's more powerful H200 chips to China with conditions, though Beijing has been discouraging purchases of US chips to bolster domestic chipmakers.