Nvidia's artificial intelligence (AI) chip, the H200, has been exported to China in small quantities after receiving approval from both the U.S. and Chinese governments, it was confirmed.
Jeffrey Kessler, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, said at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing held in Washington, D.C., on the 14th that "H200 exports to China have been minimal so far," adding that "shipments have already begun, but the quantity is very small." According to Kessler, U.S. authorities are currently conducting case-by-case reviews of Chinese companies wishing to import H200 chips. Companies that apply for licenses must meet stringent U.S. national security requirements and are also subject to on-site due diligence and inspections to verify that the delivered chips are being used according to regulations.
In connection with this, Reuters reported that three Chinese companies, including an affiliate of Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE, newly received approval to purchase H200 and AMD chips. This adds to the more than a dozen companies whose approval was confirmed in May, including Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance.
The resumption of exports is a follow-up measure based on the trade conditions President Trump had mentioned. Last December, Trump said he would allow the sale of Nvidia H200 AI chips to China but would collect 25% of the sales proceeds as a fee. The U.S. administration began issuing the relevant export licenses early this year, despite concerns raised over potential military diversion.
The H200, approved for export this time, is a chip based on Nvidia's previous-generation "Hopper" architecture, a step below the latest "Blackwell" chip in specifications. Since 2022, the U.S. has strictly controlled exports of advanced AI chips to prevent China's military technology development.
The Chinese government is aggressively pursuing the development of domestic semiconductors, including those from Huawei, with the goal of technological self-reliance. For this reason, it was uncertain whether actual purchases would take place even if the U.S. approved exports. However, a practical sense of crisis over the inability to fall behind in the immediate AI competition appears to have led to the H200 purchases.
