A Frozen Deal Thaws
The U.S. government approved Nvidia H200 exports to China in January 2026 under new rules that included volume caps, third-party review, and end-use certifications barring military applications. About 10 Chinese firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and DeepSeek, received U.S. export licenses for the chips. artificialintelligence-news.com cfr.org reuters.com thomasnet.com
Yet despite those approvals, no H200 chips have shipped to China, according to Reuters. The impasse stemmed from contradictory requirements: U.S. rules mandated that chips be used only within China, while Beijing instructed its companies to limit Nvidia chip use to overseas operations and prioritize domestic suppliers. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang confirmed earlier this year that the company had not received confirmed orders from Chinese clients. forbes.com reddit.com asiatechdaily.com artificialintelligence-news.com
What Changed
Wednesday’s report from The Information suggests Beijing is now prepared to allow purchases to proceed, addressing what the outlet described as a severe AI chip shortage for training models in China. Chinese officials have reportedly informed companies including Alibaba and ByteDance that they may acquire the chips. theinformation.com firstpost.com economictimes.com
The shift comes after earlier conditional approvals in late January proved too restrictive to convert into actual orders. Reuters reported at the time that ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent had been authorized to buy a combined total of over 400,000 H200 chips, but conditions set by the National Development and Reform Commission remained unresolved. finance.yahoo.com reuters.com
Broader Context
The move represents a reversal for Beijing, which had previously urged its tech firms to avoid dependence on Nvidia chips and instead support domestic alternatives such as those from Huawei. Chinese companies have broadly been shifting toward homegrown AI chip suppliers amid escalating U.S.-China technology tensions. artificialintelligence-news.com
Orders from Chinese technology companies have reportedly totaled more than 2 million H200 chips, far exceeding Nvidia’s available inventory of roughly 700,000 units. Each chip is priced at approximately $27,000. thomasnet.com
