Story perspectives

China Grants Limited Nvidia H200 Chips to Top AI Firms

7/9/2026

Summary

China Limits Chips

China approved Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek to import fewer than 200,000 Nvidia H200 AI training chips.
The allocation, under half of the roughly 400,000 chips the firms requested, limits the chips to training use.
U.S. export licenses permit each buyer to receive up to 75,000 chips, subject to a 25% duty.
Nvidia shares rose about 1% after the limited approval was reported.

Summary

China Halts H200

Chinese officials cite cybersecurity risks and domestic chip self-reliance as reasons for limiting Nvidia H200 imports.
Embassy spokesperson Liu Chang said China opposes politicising technology and seeks win-win cooperation with the United States.
Nvidia CFO Colette Kress said H200 chips have generated no revenue in China and imports remain uncertain.
Reuters reported Nvidia’s market share in China has fallen to zero after U.S. export controls and Beijing’s self-reliance push.

History

Historical Context

In May 2019 the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei and 70 subsidiaries to the Entity List, blocking U.S. chips and software. The action followed the 2018 NDAA ban on Huawei gear and prompted China’s 2020 “unreliable entities” list. In 2024 Beijing capped imports of Nvidia’s H200 AI chips for Alibaba and ByteDance, widening the tech split.

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China Limits Chips

China approved Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek to import fewer than 200,000 Nvidia H200 AI training chips.
The allocation, under half of the roughly 400,000 chips the firms requested, limits the chips to training use.
U.S. export licenses permit each buyer to receive up to 75,000 chips, subject to a 25% duty.
Nvidia shares rose about 1% after the limited approval was reported.

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