WASHINGTON (Reuters) -John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, on Friday objected to the resumption of Nvidia H20 equivalent graphics processing unit sales to China in a letter to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

"The Commerce Department made the right call in banning the H20," Moolenaar wrote. "We can't let the (Chinese Communist Party) use American chips to train AI models that will power its military, censor its people, and undercut American innovation."

Shares of Nvidia turned negative after the news regarding the artificial intelligence chip.

Representatives of the Commerce Department and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.