Huawei prepares to test its Ascend 910D AI chip as new US tariffs and restrictions reshape the global semiconductor trade.

Huawei and its Chinese peers have struggled for years to match Nvidia in building top-end chips that could compete with the U.S. firm's products for training models, a process where data is fed to algorithms to help them learn to make accurate decisions.

AI-diffusion” rules could limit the U.S. chip company’s sales even to friendly countries—and give more opportunity to foreign rivals.