China has condemned a US move to end its access to high-end processors made by chipmaker Nvidia, after Washington stepped up its efforts to restrict exports of cutting-edge technology to its trade and military rival.US officials have told Nvidia to stop selling to Chinese companies two of its chips designed for artificial intelligence work, the company said in a filing on Wednesday. The government is imposing a licence requirement on any products containing its A100 and forthcoming H100 integrated circuits used in the machine learning processes that enhance AI systems.

The order comes into effect immediately for chips destined for China and Russia, extending to any future products that can match the A100 in performance.

The move marks the latest salvo from the US to restrict tech exports to China over fears they could be used for military purposes. Washington has imposed restrictions on exporting technology to a number of Chinese companies and has taken aim at the country’s push for self-sufficiency in semiconductors.