Trump Approves Nvidia H200 Sales to China Amid Beijing Blockade

President Donald Trump reversed previous bans on the export of Nvidia H200 AI chips to China in January 2026, replacing a presumption of denial with a managed access framework. The new policy requires a 25% fee paid to the U.S. government, a volume cap limiting shipments to China to 50% of U.S. domestic sales, and mandatory third-party testing in the U.S. before export. Trump and administration officials argued that allowing sales would discourage Chinese competitors like Huawei from developing independent designs and address the fact that the U.S. manufactures only about 10% of its required chips.

Despite U.S. approval, the Government of China has implemented a de facto ban. Chinese customs authorities have blocked H200 shipments from entering the mainland, while Beijing has informally urged domestic tech giants such as Alibaba and ByteDance to prioritize homegrown alternatives like Huawei's Ascend processors. Approvals for H200 purchases are reportedly restricted to special circumstances, such as university research. This blockade has forced component suppliers to pause production to avoid unsold inventory, threatening an estimated one to two million unit sales.

Nvidia praised the U.S. decision for supporting American manufacturing and jobs, while denying reports that it demanded full upfront payments from Chinese clients. However, the policy faced backlash from U.S. lawmakers and national security officials, who warned that the chips could supercharge Beijing's military modernization and cyber warfare capabilities.