In a surprising reversal of the United States’ years-long technology restrictions on China, President Donald Trump last month allowed Nvidia to resume sales of a key AI chip designed specifically for the Chinese market.

The move could open the door to China securing more advanced computing power from the U.S. even as the two countries battled for technology supremacy, critics said.

Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. agreed to pay 15% of their revenues from Chinese AI chip sales to the US government in a deal to secure export licenses, an unusual arrangement that