Jul 09, 2026 16:08:00

China to approve imports of NVIDIA H200 chips by domestic AI companies.

It has been revealed that China is planning to allow its top domestic AI companies to purchase a limited number of NVIDIA H200 chips.

China Plans to Let Top AI Firms Buy Limited Amount of Nvidia H200 Chips — The Information

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/china-plans-let-top-ai-firms-buy-limited-amount-nvidia-h200-chips

China plans to let top AI firms buy limited Nvidia H200 chips, the Information reports | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-plans-let-top-ai-firms-buy-limited-amount-nvidia-h200-chips-information-2026-07-08/

The H200 is NVIDIA's GPU for AI and high-performance computing (HPC), released in November 2023. It boasts twice the inference speed of its predecessor, the H100, and 110 times the HPC performance compared to x86 CPUs.

NVIDIA announces H200 GPU for AI and HPC, boasting twice the inference speed and 110 times the HPC performance of x86 CPUs compared to the H100 - GIGAZINE

The US had imposed restrictions on the export of high-performance AI chips to China, and the H200 was one of the chips targeted. NVIDIA compromised with the government by offering a lower-performance version, the H20, for the Chinese market. However, China then banned imports of the H20 and shifted its policy to using chips from domestic companies. This led the US to realize that this would be a victory for Chinese companies, and they subsequently lifted the ban on H200 exports.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has approved the export of NVIDIA H200 chips to China - GIGAZINE

However, China adopted a cautious stance, considering quantity restrictions, but ultimately reversed course and decided not to allow imports.

The Chinese government has issued a notice to tech companies stating that NVIDIA's H200 chips are an embargoed item and should not be imported - GIGAZINE

Subsequently, there was a third policy shift, and adjustments were made to imports under strict regulations.

Reports indicate the Chinese government has approved DeepSeek's purchase of 'NVIDIA H200' chips, but has imposed regulatory conditions and is still in the final stages of negotiations - GIGAZINE

In May 2026, coinciding with President Donald Trump's visit to China, the U.S. government approved sales to some Chinese companies, and all that remained was approval from the Chinese government.

The US government has approved the sale of NVIDIA's AI chip 'H200' to a Chinese company, and is now awaiting approval from the Chinese government - GIGAZINE

According to recent reports, the Chinese government is expected to grant import licenses for the H200 to domestic big tech company Alibaba, ByteDance (known for operating TikTok), and AI company DeepSeek. While it has been reported that the United States has licensed approximately 10 companies, it remains unclear whether the remaining companies will be granted import licenses.

Neither NVIDIA, the regulatory body, nor the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, nor the Chinese companies involved have commented on this matter.