US President Donald Trump has announced that Nvidia will be allowed to sell H200 graphics processors to government-approved customers in China. This means that Trump is partially reversing an earlier export ban on the product.
Trump published this decision on his own social media channel. He stated that the sale must take place under conditions that protect US national security.
The H200 is an AI chip from Nvidia that is one generation behind the latest Blackwell architecture. These more recent chips, as well as the future Rubin architecture, are explicitly excluded from the agreement and may not be supplied to China. Nevertheless, the decision could mean billions of dollars in additional revenue for Nvidia.
Trump indicated that other US chip manufacturers, such as AMD and Intel, may also be eligible to sell similar products to selected Chinese customers. The Department of Commerce is still working on further elaboration of the rules, with certain Chinese entities likely to remain excluded. The US government would receive a 25% share of the proceeds from these sales.
Doubts about Chinese interest
The move marks a partial end to long-standing US restrictions on the export of advanced semiconductors to China. Financial considerations appear to play a major role in this. According toThe Register, it is still unclear how much interest there will actually be from China, partly because a previous attempt to sell a weakened H20 chip generated little enthusiasm among Chinese buyers.
The H200 is technologically significantly more powerful than the earlier H20 chip, which increases the likelihood that Chinese companies will now show interest. Nvidia has issued a statement supporting the decision and referring to a balanced approach that combines commercial opportunities with government oversight through the US Department of Commerce.
However, the decision has been met with criticism in the US Congress, according to The Register. A group of senators has expressed concerns about the risks of supplying advanced AI chips to China. Senator Pete Ricketts (Republican, Nebraska) recently stated that denying access to such chips is essential for national security. Together with Senator Chris Coons (Democrat, Delaware), he introduced the SAFE Chips Act, which seeks to restrict the export of advanced AI chips to China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and other countries for at least 30 months.
Semiconductors are thus once again a central point of contention in the tense trade relationship between the United States and China. While Washington is imposing restrictions on chips and manufacturing technology, Beijing has recently imposed export controls on rare-earth metals essential to chip production. After mutual threats of trade measures, both countries recently reached a preliminary truce following consultations between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.