Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) CEO Lisa Su made it clear on Thursday that the company is ready to restart shipments of its MI308 artificial intelligence chips to China, and yes, they'll pay the price to do it.

Paying the Toll to Get Back In

Speaking at a Wired conference with senior writer Lauren Goode, Su faced direct questions about whether AMD would resume selling chips to China. Her answer was straightforward: the company will comply with the Trump administration's 15% fee on MI308 exports.

Here's the background. The U.S. previously halted MI308 sales to China entirely, then started reviewing applications again over the summer. This wasn't a small issue for AMD. The company had warned that losing access to China for this export-compliant chip could slice roughly $800 million from its revenue.

In August, President Trump announced his administration had struck an agreement with Nvidia Corp (NVDA) and AMD, allowing them to restart limited chip exports to China if they paid a 15% fee. Now Su is confirming that AMD is moving forward with that arrangement.

China's Countermove: Go Local

Of course, this is happening while China is actively trying to reduce its dependence on American technology. Last month, Beijing reportedly ordered state-funded data centers to stop using foreign AI chips in new projects, requiring them to adopt domestic alternatives instead.

It's a tricky dance. During the company's second-quarter earnings call, Su emphasized that "China is an important market for us." Important enough, apparently, to pay a 15% surcharge to keep playing there, even as the Chinese government pushes facilities away from foreign silicon.

Strong Numbers and a Massive OpenAI Deal

Su's comments come on the heels of AMD's stronger-than-expected third-quarter results. The company reported $9.25 billion in revenue and forecasted fourth-quarter sales of about $9.6 billion, and that's excluding any China sales.

The bigger story might be what's ahead. AMD is banking on long-term growth from its multiyear partnership with OpenAI, which could generate more than $100 billion in revenue over the next several years as AMD begins supplying next-generation Instinct GPUs starting in 2026. That's the kind of number that makes an $800 million China headache seem a bit more manageable.

Price Action: AMD shares are up 79.04% year-to-date. During Thursday's regular session, the stock was down 0.74% but in after-hours trading, it gained slightly and reached $216.20.