The U.S. Commerce Department said last week that it would require export licenses for Nvidia's H20 graphics processing units in a move that has halted the product's sale to China. The move is expected to boost demand for Chinese companies like Huawei as they seek to provide a domestic alternative to Nvidia.

Nvidia's China strategy recently suffered a major blow as the US Department of Commerce placed its China-specific H20 chip under indefinite export control. The move came just a day after Nvidia pledged support for President Donald Trump's "Made in USA" initiative,