Will China restrict H200 chips as the US lifts its export ban?
The US government has indicated that it will partially ease export restrictions on NVIDIA's H200 AI chips to China, but China is taking a cautious approach and is reportedly discussing the possibility of partially restricting imports.
China set to limit access to Nvidia's H200 chips despite Trump export approval
The United States has imposed export controls to prevent the transfer of high-performance chips to China due to concerns that they could be used for military purposes, and major manufacturers such as NVIDIA are trying to comply with the policy while still securing profits by developing products for China with reduced performance.
Meanwhile, China has used the embargo to encourage domestic semiconductor manufacturers to manufacture products that compete with NVIDIA, and has sought to strengthen its national power by requiring state-run data centers to use only domestically produced chips.
There were voices of opposition to the embargo in the United States, but perhaps due to a particular coincidence between NVIDIA's desire to expand its overseas market share and President Donald Trump's desire to strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities, exports of NVIDIA's high-performance AI chip, the H200, will be allowed in December 2025.
However, China is reportedly cautious about this decision and is discussing a policy to restrict access to the H200. According to a source interviewed by the financial newspaper Financial Times, 'Anyone wanting to buy the H200 will have to go through an approval process with the authorities and explain why they cannot be replaced with domestic products.' The source added that a final decision has not yet been made.
'The United States will allow NVIDIA to ship the H200 to approved customers in China, provided that they continue to strengthen national security. President Xi Jinping has responded affirmatively,' President Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Trump added that '25% will go to the United States of America,' but it's unclear how this will work. A previous agreement had allowed Nvidia to sell its lower-performance H20 chips on the condition that it pay 15% of its revenue to the government, but this fell through when the company and the Trump administration were unable to work out a legally viable payment mechanism.
Supporters of the export licenses argue that China will become more dependent on American technology, benefiting the United States, while opponents point out that it will be a major boost to China's technological development. The Financial Times reported, 'The return of Nvidia's advanced chips is expected to be welcomed by tech giants such as Alibaba, ByteDance and Tencent. While these companies use Chinese chips for basic AI functions, they still prefer Nvidia products for their high performance and maintainability.'
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