New Delhi, Sept. 18 -- China has upped the ante in its trade tussle with the US. As reported, China's internet regulator has ordered Chinese tech companies not to buy artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Nvidia.

This may be a move to protect its own semiconductor industry, though its level of sophistication is a mystery.

Earlier, China's antitrust authority had accused Nvidia of rule violations, though the US-based chip-maker has denied wrongdoing.

These actions sit oddly with China's presumed appetite for American AI chips. As part of a recent mini-deal between the US and China, Washington was to ease some export barriers erected to keep high-end AI chips from reaching China. But then, US curbs on top-end chips remain, while the de...