China state media speaks out against Nvidia buying Arm, calls it ‘disturbing’
- A Chinese state publication has spoken out against the Nvidia / Arm deal.
- The outlet points to US measures against Chinese companies as a reason to oppose the takeover.
Nvidia made technical headlines over the weekend when it announced a $ 40 billion deal to acquire silicon and computer pioneer Arm. The deal would mean Nvidia directly or indirectly controls the technology in the vast majority of smartphones as well as a growing number of computers.
China is now linked by the state Global times (h / t: Reuters) has spoken out against the takeover and described it as “disturbing”. In particular, the point of sale cites US-China relations and actions against Chinese technology companies as a reason to oppose the deal.
“With US-China tensions and US suppression of a number of Chinese tech companies, if arm fell into US hands, Chinese tech companies would certainly be at a huge disadvantage in the marketplace,” the state-sponsored publication said.
“Not only Huawei, but any Chinese tech company that will be placed on the US list of companies could be cut off from arm-based chips. European companies using Arm technology could also have difficulty getting products to the Chinese market, which would significantly disrupt the supply chain, ”she said, adding that affected companies may need to look for alternatives to Arm.
The UK-based but Japanese-owned arm reportedly dropped some business relationships with Huawei following the U.S. ban in May 2019, but resumed some ties with the Chinese brand shortly thereafter. Still, owning a U.S. company like Nvidia would likely complicate matters further for companies like Huawei and other Chinese companies that are subject to U.S. measures.
See also: The Huawei ban explained
Arm is also considered a neutral player in the computer and mobile industries, offering its technology to clients such as Apple, Huawei, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Samsung and others. But the prospect of belonging to one of those players has challenged that neutrality. Nevertheless, the two companies insist that business run as usual and that the neutrality of the computer pioneer be maintained.
The combination of concerns about Arm’s neutrality under Nvidia and the potential impact on Chinese companies could lead to further scrutiny of the deal by regulators around the world.
