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China Reportedly Plans to Allow Limited Sales of Nvidia H200 Chips to Top AI Firms
China is reportedly planning to allow its leading artificial intelligence companies to purchase a limited quantity of Nvidia's advanced H200 chips, according to a report by The Information, which cited two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The move would mark a potential shift in Beijing's policy regarding foreign-made high-performance semiconductors.
Chinese officials have reportedly informed major tech firms, including Alibaba, ByteDance, and DeepSeek, that they may soon receive permission to buy the H200 chips. This development follows a period where the U.S. government had already approved the sale of these chips to about 10 Chinese firms, but Chinese authorities had withheld their own approval, reportedly to encourage the use of domestic alternatives.
The number of chips that Beijing may approve for sale is still being determined but could be fewer than 200,000 in total, the report said. This amount is said to be less than half of what the companies had requested earlier this year. The potential change in stance suggests Chinese tech companies are facing a significant computing power shortage for their AI development.
AdU.S. export controls and China's push for technological self-reliance have heavily impacted Nvidia's business in the country. In October, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that the company's market share in China had effectively fallen to zero due to these restrictions. Following the report of the potential sales, Nvidia's shares saw a modest increase.