Leaders of chip industry advocate for relaxation of China regulations in Washington meeting

America’s largest semiconductor companies are embarking on a last-ditch effort to head off new curbs on their sales to China, with senior executives traveling to Washington next week for talks with administration officials and lawmakers.

The chief executive officers of Intel, Qualcomm and Nvidia are planning to lobby against extending restrictions on the sale to China of certain chips and the equipment to manufacture the semiconductors that the Biden administration is set to roll out in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said.

While they don’t expect to stave off all the actions, the companies are sensing a window of opportunity to convince the Biden team that an escalation would hurt the current diplomatic efforts by the White House to engage Chinese officials and establish a more productive relationship, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the trip isn’t yet public.