Nvidia has received the green signal to export advanced artificial intelligence chips to China! The US Commerce Department announced a policy shift on Tuesday, authorizing the tech giant to sell its H200 chips to Beijing under certain restrictions.The development follows an announcement by US President Donald Trump last month to allow exports of the H200 provided Nvidia can meet conditions, including proof that there are “sufficient” supplies in the United States. At the same time, the department emphasized that the company’s most advanced processors will remain off-limits to Chinese buyers. The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which oversees export controls, said it had changed its license review process for the H200 and comparable chips. Instead of an automatic rejection, applications are now examined on a case-by-case basis. On December 9 last year, Trump said he had reached an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping to allow Nvidia to sell the H200 in China, with the US government receiving a 25% share of the proceeds from those sales.However, the outlook for demand in China remains uncertain despite the regulatory opening. Beijing is reportedly pushing tech companies to rely more on domestically produced chips. According to the information, Chinese officials have told some companies that permission to purchase H200 chips would only be granted in certain situations, such as for university research or development laboratories, sources told AFP. The same outlet previously reported that Chinese authorities had asked companies to stop buying H200 while considering whether to require companies to buy a fixed share of AI chips from Nvidia’s Chinese competitors. The policy change marks a clear break with the approach of former President Joe Biden, whose administration imposed sweeping restrictions on the export of advanced AI chips over fears they could be used for Chinese military purposes. Democrats in Congress have since criticized the shift, calling it a serious mistake that could strengthen China’s military and economic position. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has publicly supported allowing some advanced chips to be sold to China, arguing that it is important for AI systems worldwide to be built on U.S. technology. The H200 chips are graphics processing units, or GPUs, essential for training AI models that support the generative AI push that began with the launch of ChatGPT in 2022. Nvidia dominates the global GPU market and has become the world’s most valuable company amid strong demand and optimism around AI. As the US and China continue to compete for leadership in artificial intelligence, the H200 remains a step behind Nvidia’s latest offerings. The chips are estimated to be about 18 months behind the company’s most advanced products, which remain off-limits to China.
