China To Limit Nvidia's H200 Chip Access After Trump Greenlights Exports
Update (Tuesday AM):
President Trump's decision to greenlight exports of Nvidia's H200 chips to China signals an effort to ease tensions with Beijing, following the trade truce from earlier this fall and ahead of his expected meeting with President Xi Jinping in China in April 2026.
Even with Trump opening the door for Nvidia's high-end data-center AI chips to be exported to China, that doesn't necessarily mean widespread adoption or booming sales in the world's second-largest economy.
According to Financial Times sources, regulators in Beijing are considering plans to limit access to the H200 AI chips, even after Trump on Monday allowed exports to "approved customers" in China under national-security conditions and a 25% payment to the US.
This report comes as no surprise, given China's push to develop and produce high-end AI chips domestically to reduce dependence on the West. However, tech giants like Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent still prefer Nvidia chips for advanced AI tasks.
FT's report continued:
Buyers would probably be required to go through an approval process, the people said, submitting requests to purchase the chips and explaining why domestic providers were unable to meet their needs.
No final decision had been made yet, the people added.
Trump's move toward openness follows the Biden-Harris administration's ban on H200 exports to China due to military-use concerns.
Headline-driven rollercoaster ride over the day....
Nvidia already ships a detuned H20 version to China (with a 15% revenue payment to the US), but Beijing has also limited its use, directing local companies to seek domestic alternatives.
We noted yesterday that this was the most likely outcome.
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Having pumped (and dumped) earlier today on reports that the Trump administration will allow H200 chip exports to China, NVDA shares extending gains the after-hours (to the highs of the day) after President issued a statement on X, confirming he will allow Nvidia to ship its chips to China and noting that "President Xi respondedly positively."
NVDA spiked...
Trump wrote that "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."
He added that:
"President Xi responded positively!"
At a cost:
"25% will be paid to the United States of America. This policy will support American Jobs, strengthen U.S. Manufacturing, and benefit American Taxpayers."
Trump continued:
"The Biden Administration forced our Great Companies to spend BILLIONS OF DOLLARS building “degraded" products that nobody wanted, a terrible idea that slowed Innovation, and hurt the American Worker. That Era is OVER!
We will protect National Security, create American Jobs, and keep America’s lead in Al. NVIDIA’s U.S. Customers are already moving forward with their incredible, highly advanced Blackwell chips, and soon, Rubin, neither of which are part of this deal. My Administration will always put America FIRST.
The Department of Commerce is finalizing the details, and the same approach will apply to AMD, Intel, and other GREAT American Companies. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Permission for H200 exports is seen as a compromise from Nvidia's earlier push to sell its more advanced Blackwell design chips to Chinese customers, a person familiar with the matter said prior to the announcement.
After meeting with Trump on Wednesday, Huang expressed uncertainty about whether China would accept Nvidia's H200 chips should the US relax restrictions on sales of the processors.
"We don't know. We have no clue," Huang said, as he headed into a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over export controls.
"We can't degrade chips that we sell to China — they won't accept that."
So, Jensen gets his deal at a cost - if China wants the 'old chips' - and Trump gets to brag about more revenue for Washington and support the stock market.
