WASHINGTON: US authorities have arrested a man accused of smuggling more than US$300 million worth of computer servers to China, the Department of Justice announced.

Greg Lui, 38, of California, also known as "Yiu Kong Lui", allegedly used false paperwork and shipments through third countries to smuggle the export-controlled computer servers to China, the department said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 1).

The servers contained "US-manufactured graphics processing units (GPUs) commonly used for Super Intelligence (SI)", it added, using the Trump administration's new name for artificial intelligence (AI).

"Protecting America's national security means keeping our advanced Super Intelligence technology from being used to strengthen our adversaries' military capabilities," California prosecutor Bill Essayli said.

"We will aggressively prosecute those who put our national security at risk for profit," he added.

Lui operated a technology company called Earthmade Computer, which he used to buy and send items to China without the licences required by the US Department of Commerce from 2023 to 2024, according to the statement.

The company shipped the items to countries including Malaysia and Singapore, where no such licence is required, then illegally re-exported them to China.

If convicted, Lui could face a maximum of 50 years in prison.

China, long seen as trailing the United States on cutting-edge AI, has been closing that gap fast.

The United States has long tried to slow China's progress with export controls on the advanced chips needed for cutting-edge AI, blocking access to top-end US semiconductors such as those made by Nvidia.