China has launched an investigation into US computer chipmaker Nvidia, targeting one of America’s leading technology companies for alleged violations of antitrust laws.

The probe marks the latest salvo in an ongoing technology war between the US and China over the lucrative semiconductor market.

Last week, Washington tightened restrictions on sales of certain exports to Chinese companies and the standoff over the industry is expected to continue when Donald Trump re-enters the White House.

Nvidia said it was “happy to answer any questions regulators may have about our business.”

“We work hard to provide the best products we can in every region and meet our commitments everywhere we do business,” the company said in a statement.

On Monday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said Beijing authorities had launched an investigation “in accordance with the law.”

He said Nvidia had been accused of violating commitments made in 2020 when it acquired Mellanox Technologies, a smaller company.

Last week, the United States imposed tough new measures restricting sales to 140 companies, including Chinese chip firms such as Piotech and SiCarrier, without special permission.

At the time, China responded with tough new rules restricting sales of key minerals to the United States, including antimony, gallium and germanium.

Analysts noted that the move was important to single out the United States with such restrictions, rather than instituting blanket limits.

Several trade groups representing Chinese companies also spoke out, warning their members not to buy from American companies.

Founded in 1993, Nvidia was originally known for making the kind of computer chips that process graphics, particularly for computer games.

The tech giant now sits at the forefront of developing chips that power artificial intelligence (AI), with a market value of more than $3 trillion.

Its growing dominance of the industry has caught the attention of competition regulators in the United States and elsewhere.

Last month, Nvidia acknowledged that it had been contacted by watchdogs around the world, including those in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, South Korea and China.

But the company has also been caught in the middle of rising geopolitical and economic tensions between the United States and China, as the two countries vie to establish their dominance over high-end chips.

Nvidia reported last month that customers based in “China, including Hong Kong” had accounted for about 13% of sales so far this year.

That figure is down since the U.S. began increasing restrictions on advanced technology for Chinese companies just a few years ago, citing national security fears.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was tight-lipped earlier this year when asked by business analysts about political risks to the company in the coming months.

“We are guiding one quarter at a time,” he said. “Regardless of what the new administration decides, of course we will support it.”

‘Retaliation’

James Lewis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, said the move against Nvidia appeared to be another form of “retaliation” by Beijing.

“The timing is not a coincidence,” he said. “It’s primarily a message to the U.S. government: The Chinese have decided they’re not going to accept sanctions one after another.”

In previous cases, when the U.S. has imposed export controls, it has only delayed, not stopped, the other country’s ability to gain access to the technology, Lewis said, adding that he was skeptical that the AI ​​at the center of the dispute was as revolutionary as the two sides claim.

Regardless of the reasoning, however, he said he expected the tit-for-tat to continue.

“It’s really a grudge match on both sides,” he said.