Key Points
- Nvidia aims to ship H200 AI chips to China by mid-February. The initial shipment includes up to 80,000 chips from existing inventory.
- President Trump’s plan allows these sales in exchange for a 25% fee.
- Beijing may require buyers to bundle domestic chips with Nvidia purchases.
- The H200 is six times more powerful than the previous China-specific H20.
Nvidia plans to start sending its powerful H200 AI chips to customers in China just in time for the Lunar New Year in mid-February. According to reports, the company intends to ship between 5,000 and 10,000 chip modules right away using its current stock. This total represents about 40,000 to 80,000 individual H200 chips.
For Chinese tech giants like Alibaba and ByteDance, these chips are a huge deal because they are roughly six times faster than the weakened H20 chips they have used recently.
Nvidia isn’t just looking at current stock, either. The company told clients it plans to increase production capacity for these chips in early 2026. This move follows a massive shift in U.S. policy. While the Biden administration previously banned these advanced sales, President Trump has promised to lift the ban. However, there is a catch: Nvidia must pay a 25% fee to the U.S. government for every sale.
Even with the U.S. moving forward, the deal isn’t a sure thing yet. Everything depends on approval from the Chinese government. Beijing is currently weighing its options and hasn’t officially approved the purchases.
Officials in China worry that allowing in superior American chips could crush their domestic chip industry. One idea they are discussing is a “bundling” rule. This would require Chinese companies to purchase a specified amount of local chips for every Nvidia chip they import.
For now, the situation remains in limbo. The H200 is no longer Nvidia’s newest chip—that title belongs to the Blackwell series—but it is still very capable and in high demand.
If both governments give the green light, Nvidia could see a massive boost in revenue from a market that has been restricted for years. Until then, tech workers in both countries are waiting for an official “go-ahead” from their respective leaders.
