NVIDIA hinted at delivering H200 chips to Chinese customers before the Spring Festival
According to Reuters, multiple sources have revealed that NVIDIA has informed its Chinese customers that it plans to deliver its second-ranked artificial intelligence (AI) chip, the H200, to Chinese customers in mid-February next year, just before the Chinese Lunar New Year. Two of the sources stated that NVIDIA plans to use its inventory to fulfill the initial orders, with an expected total shipment of 5,000 to 10,000 chip modules, equivalent to about 40,000 to 80,000 H200 chips. The H200 chip is NVIDIA's second-tier chip, just below the Blackwell series, which has been banned from export to China during the Biden administration. On December 8, former U.S. President Trump announced that NVIDIA would be allowed to export H200 chips to "approved customers," but not including its more advanced Blackwell and the upcoming Rubin chips. Reuters previously reported that the U.S. government has initiated a cross-departmental review process to assess the relevant license applications for exporting H200 chips to China, fulfilling its commitment to allow the sale of such chips to China. However, Reuters noted that there remains significant uncertainty regarding the smooth delivery of H200 chips, as the Chinese side has not yet approved any procurement orders for H200 chips. A spokesperson for NVIDIA stated on the 23rd to Global Times reporters: "We are continuously managing our supply chain. Compliant sales of H200 chips to authorized customers in China will not affect our ability to supply global customers
According to Reuters, multiple insiders revealed that NVIDIA has informed its Chinese customers that it plans to deliver its second-ranked artificial intelligence (AI) chip, the H200, to Chinese customers in mid-February next year, just before the Chinese Lunar New Year. Two of the sources stated that NVIDIA plans to use its inventory to fulfill the initial orders, with an expected total shipment of 5,000 to 10,000 chip modules, equivalent to about 40,000 to 80,000 H200 chips.
The H200 chip is NVIDIA's second-tier chip, just behind the Blackwell series, which has been banned from export to China during the Biden administration. On December 8, former U.S. President Trump announced that NVIDIA would be allowed to export H200 chips to "approved customers," but not including its more advanced Blackwell and the upcoming Rubin chips. Reuters previously reported that the U.S. government has initiated a cross-departmental review process to assess the relevant license applications for exporting H200 chips to China, fulfilling its commitment to allow the sale of such chips to China.
However, Reuters stated that there remains significant uncertainty regarding the smooth delivery of H200 chips, as China has not yet approved any procurement orders for the H200 chips. A spokesperson for NVIDIA stated on the 23rd to Global Times reporters: "We are continuously managing our supply chain. Compliant sales of H200 chips to authorized customers in China will not affect our ability to supply global customers."
According to a previous report by The Wall Street Journal, regarding whether to lift the ban on NVIDIA's exports of H200 chips to China, some White House officials, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, are supportive, believing it could be a good compromise that allows NVIDIA to compete with China's Huawei while preventing China from surpassing the U.S. in the AI field. However, U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman Gregory Meeks have publicly called for the U.S. Department of Commerce to disclose more license information to assess whether the exported NVIDIA chips would be used for military purposes and to observe the reactions of U.S. allies and partners.
On December 9, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiajun stated at a regular press conference that China has been paying attention to the relevant dynamics from the U.S. He said, "China has always advocated that China and the U.S. achieve mutual benefits and win-win results through cooperation."
Industry opinions suggest that, against the backdrop of the rise of domestic chips and policies aimed at promoting domestic alternatives, it remains uncertain whether NVIDIA can quickly return to the Chinese market. Especially at the end of July this year, the National Internet Information Office had a discussion with NVIDIA regarding the security risks of backdoors in the H20 computing power chip. Balancing development and security, China may be more inclined to rely on technological self-reliance to tackle core key technologies.
Xiang Ligang, chairman of the Zhongguancun Information Consumption Alliance, told Global Times reporters on the 23rd that the White House hopes to lift the ban to maintain NVIDIA's performance expectations and boost the U.S. stock market; while some members of Congress, standing on an anti-China stance, wish to continue blocking China in high technology. Telecommunications and internet industry expert Ma Jihua stated that the U.S. government and NVIDIA are eager to return to the Chinese market, fearing loss of market competitiveness and space due to the rise of Chinese chip technology, and are also concerned about NVIDIA's performance decline potentially bursting the AI bubble that Wall Street is worried about. Xiang Ligang said that China welcomes a more open and cooperative stance from the U.S. on high-tech exports, but it is essential to ensure that the chips exported to China are safe, environmentally friendly, and meet the application requirements of China's AI development, while also maintaining policy stability to provide Chinese enterprises with more certain market expectations
