CNBC's Mackenzie Sigalos joins 'Money Movers' with the latest details on China's new antitrust probe into Qualcomm and what rising trade tensions mean for tech stocks.

Chinese authorities have opened an antitrust investigation into U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm, focusing on its acquisition of Israeli vehicle-to-vehicle communication company Autotox. The move comes as tensions escalate between China and the United States over technology and trade, with Qualcomm's business with major Chinese brands now facing uncertainty.

This investigation follows similar actions against other U.S. chip firms, including NVIDIA, and coincides with China's recent export restrictions on rare earth minerals. The developments highlight a broader strategy by China to reduce reliance on American technology and assert greater control over its domestic semiconductor industry.

China opens antitrust probe into Qualcomm

NASDAQ turning lower this hour, down more than one and a half percent as the president posts on Truth Social that China's becoming hostile over rare earths and trade talks comes just hours after China announced an antitrust probe into U.S. chip giant Qualcomm. Mackenzie Sagalos has more on that in today's tech check. Hey, Mac. Hey, Carl. So Qualcomm is plunging down more than, well, nearly 5% at this point as investors digest what's looking like collateral damage in this escalating trade war between the U.S. and China. Beijing's latest move is opening an antitrust investigation into Qualcomm's acquisition of Autotox, an Israeli company that builds vehicle-to-vehicle communication tech. Now, the deal closed late last year, but China now says that Qualcomm may have violated anti-monopoly rules. The company wasn't immediately available for comment, but it supplies chips to major Chinese brands like Xiaomi, and that business could now be in jeopardy. And Beijing isn't just signaling tougher enforcement here. It is staking out a new front in the U.S.-China tech war. Last month, this same Chinese regulator accused NVIDIA of breaching antitrust law over its Mellanox deal from 2020. And according to the FT, China has now barred key domestic firms from buying AI chips from NVIDIA altogether. And this pressure campaign comes at a pivotal moment. Just this hour, you discussed President Trump firing a salvo back, threatening to call off his meeting this month with President Xi after China unveiled export curbs on rare earth minerals, essential inputs for defense systems and semiconductors. And it all marks a sharp escalation in the tech and trade showdown between Washington and Beijing, especially as Chinese AI leaders like Alibaba and Baidu reportedly doubled down on homegrown semiconductors after months of U.S. export bans on advanced NVIDIA and AMD chips. So in that context, this is less about monopoly law and more about China accelerating its break from American tech. Guys, so that was going to be my question, Mac, was just how self-sufficient China is becoming when it pertains to semiconductors right now. They've invested a lot in it. Technologically speaking, are they at the point where they can really supplant some of these chips from a, from a technology standpoint? That's the key question here, because it was certainly put to the test over the last few months when it was not possible to import the latest chips from NVIDIA, from AMD. But then when the Trump administration struck a deal with these suppliers saying that, you know, for certain, for certain fee and a certain cut of revenue, you can now get this tech. That's when Beijing fired back and reportedly banned local companies like a, like an Alibaba, which is a big AI player from being able to import that technology and instead be more reliant on chips from Huawei. And that's the standing question, whether or not they're being held back in the AI race by being barred from using the latest tech from NVIDIA and AMD. And it is a standing question, Leslie, and one that I'm asking my sources about. Mac, you know, our coverage earlier in the week really centered around Jensen Wang coming on Squawk, talking to Jim and the investing club. And Wang has been so vocal about almost an apostle, like trying to convince lawmakers here that we need to make sure China's basing their technology on U.S. architecture. He's run afoul of some lawmakers who didn't like the fact that he said, you know, being a China hawk is not patriotic. I wonder if, if this presidential post today and an acceleration of the trade war, what that does to Wang's argument. Yeah. And I mean, he, Jensen Wang has absolutely become a tech ambassador of sorts. He was with president Trump and the UK as part of a whole host of announcements there related to the, to the AI narrative and, and, and an acquisition talk as well with Enscale. But the key point here is that so much of their business model is reliant on those China sales. And so we've got earnings coming up or we're going to see what kind of impact that had. But, you know, every analyst on the street is trying to model for what this does to Nvidia's math, perhaps in being able to make those exports. So whether or not president Trump ultimately calls off these talks is still a standing question per Amon's reporting earlier in the hour. But it's going to be key that Nvidia gets to reopen that supply chain. And that is highly dependent on where president Trump lands on this. And at this point, it does seem to be a very key negotiating chip. And that's the point here. These chip makers are becoming negotiating chips in this wider trade war between the two countries. Yeah. No pun intended there. Mackenzie Scalos.

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