WASHINGTON, Oct 31 (Reuters) - A U.S. Republican senator

is asking U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to help

the Malaysian government prevent U.S. artificial intelligence

chips from being smuggled through the country to China,

according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Reuters has previously reported that U.S. officials believe

Malaysia is among a handful of countries where organized

smuggling operations have worked to get U.S. chips into China

that would otherwise be banned from export to China.

Senator Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, wrote a letter to

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying Malaysian

officials had begun cracking down on such activity and the Trump

administration should aid Malaysian officials in the effort by

helping the country develop screening programs to ensure chips

are not being diverted to China.

Cotton, who along with the Trump administration has supported

the idea of requiring U.S. chips to contain technology that

would verify their location to prevent smuggling, said chips

with such technology should be given a green light for export to

Malaysia.

"As is often the case, U.S. companies are at the forefront

of developing creative and innovative technical solutions, which

will help add layers of assurance against illegal diversion,"

Cotton wrote in an October 30 letter.

"To support the semiconductor industry in their efforts, it may

be beneficial for U.S. and Malaysian officials to develop

priority customs clearance procedures for shipments of advanced

U.S. chips with anti-diversion mechanisms," Cotton said.

Malaysia, China's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia,

announced in July it was requiring permits for all exports,

trans-shipments and transits of U.S.-made high-performance

chips, such as those made by Nvidia ( NVDA ).