China’s Plan for Nvidia Chip Access
China is reportedly set to limit access to Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips despite President Trump’s remarks suggesting that the U.S. chipmaker could begin exports to Beijing again.
Currently, the U.S. has strict export regulations on AI chips. These restrictions compel Chinese companies to turn to domestic alternatives that aren’t as powerful, largely due to concerns that the Chinese government might leverage these technologies for military applications or gain an upper hand in the AI arena.
However, it now seems there’s a possibility these export restrictions might be eased. Chinese regulators are said to be exploring ways to grant limited access to some chips to promote local production, as reported by two individuals familiar with the discussions.
Potential buyers of the Nvidia chips might face a lengthy approval process. They would need to submit an application that includes reasons for why local manufacturers cannot satisfy their requirements.
As it stands, no final decision has been made regarding this issue.
On Monday, Trump indicated via a post on Truth Social that the U.S. would “allow NVIDIA to ship H200 products to authorized customers in China” and noted that the U.S. would “receive 25%.” He mentioned that the Commerce Department is working on final details, and this export strategy could extend to other U.S. chipmakers like AMD and Intel.
Neither the White House nor the Chinese embassy has provided immediate comments on this matter.
The sale of Nvidia’s H200 chips was initially halted under the Biden administration due to national security concerns.
Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, is actively advocating for the lifting of these export restrictions. Supporters believe that resuming exports could make China more reliant on U.S. technology.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government is encouraging local firms to enhance their production capabilities to create chips that can replace U.S.-made options such as the H200. Major Chinese companies—like Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent—are reportedly eager to restart imports of Nvidia GPUs.
In response to national security implications, the Chinese government has restricted the use of U.S. technology, tightened customs checks on chip imports, and is providing energy subsidies to AI data centers.
According to sources, regulators overseeing semiconductor manufacturing might eventually prohibit public sector purchases of H200 chips.
Trump’s announcement to renew exports faces several challenges domestically. A group of U.S. senators has proposed legislation to freeze such moves for a minimum of 30 months.
U.S. lawmakers are also contemplating an approval process to ensure that H200 chips are sold only to companies deemed “safe,” as per reports.
Meanwhile, Nvidia is still exporting a less advanced version of its chips, the H20, to China. In August, the company agreed to remit 15% of its sales revenue from these exports to the U.S. government.
However, Chinese officials have tightened access to these chips, contending that lower-tier Nvidia products are comparable to local alternatives.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun emphasized that cooperation between the U.S. and China should bring mutual benefits and win-win outcomes in response to Trump’s comments.
Finally, U.S. authorities are intensifying efforts to crack down on smuggling operations attempting to evade restrictions on the chip trade. Recently, they shut down another smuggling ring linked to China, which was involved in trafficking $160 million worth of Nvidia chips.
