在人工智能竞赛中，中国在软件方面与美国的差距已明显缩小，但在硬件端仍明显落后，英伟达芯片占据全球超过95%的AI算力；自2022年8月起，美国禁止向中国企业出口其最先进处理器，3月19日联邦检方指控超微（Supermicro）联合创始人廖亦贤、一名员工与一名承包商涉案，涉嫌走私价值25亿美元的AI服务器。超微股价次日下跌约三分之一，而该25亿美元金额只占公司截至1月过去十二个月AI硬件销售总额1940亿美元的约1.3%。
检方称，涉案服务器经由东南亚“中转”实体下单，先在美国组装，再用无标识箱转运到中国，并在仓库放置数千台“虚拟”服务器以误导海关核验，这显示长链条供应链下执法难度很高。超微未被起诉且称有“稳健合规计划”，但其历史上也有治理警讯；该事件并非孤例，12月官方称查获涉案价值至少1.6亿美元的先进芯片外流，去年2月新加坡又逮捕3名涉案人员，涉及价值3.9亿美元、经由新加坡再转往马来西亚的服务器交易。
该产业链结构是英伟达在台积电代工后再由设备商组装并经多级经销商转手，因而监管还出现“云端替代”渠道风险，部分中方企业可通过如马来西亚等地云服务间接接入；时机也在变化，12月美国曾短暂放宽H200禁令，3月17日黄仁勋称订单已重新回流。美国工业与安全局人员偏少，国会则提出芯片内置位置追踪与30天对“敌对国家”出售实施审查否决条款，但高利润诱因使走私方更具创新性，“猫鼠追逐”格局短期难以打破。
In the race for AI, China has narrowed the software gap with the United States, but remains far behind in hardware, where Nvidia chips account for more than 95% of global AI computing power; since August 2022, Washington has barred exports of Nvidia’s most advanced processors to Chinese firms, and on March 19 federal prosecutors charged Supermicro co-founder Yih-Shyan Liaw, a former employee, and a contractor with a $2.5 billion AI server smuggling case. Supermicro shares fell about one-third the next day, and the $2.5 billion at issue represents only about 1.3% of Nvidia’s $194 billion in AI-hardware sales over the twelve months through January.
Prosecutors allege the servers were routed through a Southeast Asian pass-through entity, assembled in the United States, then repackaged in unmarked boxes and sent to China, with thousands of dummy units placed in warehouses to mislead customs checks, showing how long, layered supply chains weaken enforcement. Supermicro was not charged and says it has a “robust compliance program,” but its governance history is not clean; the case also appears part of a pattern, as December officials cited a ring involving at least $160 million in advanced-chip exports, followed by the February arrest of three people in Singapore tied to $390 million in server shipments routed via Singapore and Malaysia.
The production chain is a key vulnerability: Nvidia designs chips that are manufactured mainly by TSMC, then assembled by equipment makers and moved through intermediaries before reaching customers, while unauthorized access can also occur through cloud services in third countries such as Malaysia. Although the U.S. briefly eased China-specific H200 controls in December and Huang said orders resumed on March 17, U.S. authorities remain constrained by thin staffing at BIS, and proposed remedies—location-tracking requirements and a 30-day congressional review-and-block process—may not prevent smugglers from adapting under high profit incentives.
Source: A new case of chip smuggling shows the limits of export controls
Subtitle: Contraband AI gear continues to make its way to China
Dateline: 3月 26, 2026 04:45 上午