Any idiot could have predicted if you cut China off from Nvidia chips, they'd use their own, quickly surpass Nvidia, leaving Americans not being able to ripoff Chinese progress, unless we get our hands on the new Chinese chips if they're not direct ripoffs of what Nvidia is doing.

I agree the policy never made sense, but Chinese chips are still a few generations behind and will remain that way for a while.

China currently has a physical limit to transistor size that is enforced by the physics of their lithography machines. They are doing everything they can to use export-controlled ASML technology including rebuilding prior generational tech from the second-hand market, but that is a.K2-level sheer-face climb. Considering how much unique knowledge ASML and TSMC have, even corporate espionage can't fill in those gaps probably for a decade.

They absolutely are using homegrown chips that are lower quality and making up for it in quantity, however, using older lithography.