 "Nvidia will now be able to sell its H200 chips to China. Reuters file")
China has set a limit on the imports of Nvidia’s H200 chips after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would lift a ban on selling AI chips to Beijing. With this move, China aims to push self-sufficiency in achieving its tech goals.
According to a report by the Financial Times, regulators in Beijing are looking at ways to limit access to the H200 chips, Nvidia’s second-best generation of artificial intelligence chips.
As per Trump’s announcement , Nvidia will now be able to sell its H200 chips to China. The H200 chips are way outdated than the company’s latest Blackwell chip, which is considered the most advanced AI chip available anywhere.
Although Trump has clarified that the US will not provide China with the Blackwell chip, the sale could be worth billions of dollars for Nvidia. The company has said it has more than $500 billion worth of orders for its best artificial intelligence chips to fulfil this year and next, and that’s before any buyers in China are factored in.
During the ban, China expanded its domestic AI chip market to push the manufacturing of similar products to Nvidia’s.
How is China planning to limit access?
Buyers would likely have to undergo an approval process, submitting requests to purchase the chips and explaining why domestic suppliers could not meet their requirements. Other moves include increasing customs checks of chip imports and offering energy subsidies to data centres using domestic chips.
The two regulators leading Beijing’s years-long push for semiconductor self-sufficiency, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, may impose additional measures to bolster the competitiveness of domestic chips, the people said. These could include prohibiting China’s public sector from purchasing the H200.
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View All‘Xi responded positively’
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “I have informed President Xi, of China, that the United States will allow NVIDIA to ship its H200 products to approved customers in China, and other Countries, under conditions that allow for continued strong National Security. President Xi responded positively!”
The president added that “other great American companies” like Intel and AMD will also start selling their chips soon. Trump defended the move by saying that it will create more jobs in the US, strengthen manufacturing and be beneficial to taxpayers.