China approves first batch of Nvidia H200 chip imports, sources say
The Hindu
China has approved its first batch of Nvidia H200 artificial intelligence chip imports, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters
China has approved its first batch of Nvidia H200 artificial intelligence chip imports, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, marking a shift in position as Beijing seeks to balance its AI needs against spurring domestic development.
ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent have been approved to purchase over 400,000 H200 chips in total, with other enterprises now joining a queue for subsequent approvals, said two of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
It was granted during Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang’s visit to China this week, the sources said.
China’s industry and commerce ministries as well as Nvidia had not yet responded to requests for comment at the time of publication. ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent had not responded either.
The H200, Nvidia’s second most powerful AI chip, has emerged as a major flashpoint in U.S.-China relations. Despite strong demand from Chinese firms and U.S. approval for exports, Beijing’s hesitation to allow imports has been the main barrier to shipments.
The U.S. earlier this month formally cleared the way for Nvidia to sell the H200 to China, where the company is seeing strong appetite. However, Chinese authorities have the final say on whether they would allow it to be shipped in.

The U.S. has launched two investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 against India and other economies to examine practices that may be ‘unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict U.S. commerce’. One probe examines whether countries, including India, are using excess manufacturing capacity to export to the U.S. in a manner that hurts American businesses, while another looks at whether countries have taken ‘sufficient steps’ to prohibit imports of goods produced with forced labour.












