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China plans limited approvals for Nvidia H200 chip purchases
The approvals would require selected firms to explain why they need Nvidia’s H200 instead of a locally made alternative.
China is moving toward a more permissive stance on advanced AI chip imports, with plans to allow selected companies to buy limited numbers of Nvidia’s H200 device, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a source with knowledge of the matter.
According to SCMP, the firms flagged for potential approvals include Alibaba Group Holding, with additional information suggesting ByteDance and AI startup DeepSeek have also been informed of coming approvals. The outlet said the companies would need to justify their purchases by explaining why they require the Nvidia product rather than a domestically produced alternative.
The report frames the shift as part of a broader China United States standoff over cutting edge chips. It also points to the likelihood that China is balancing near term compute needs with efforts to give domestic AI chip makers time to expand.
Anbound China lawyer Shi Shenchang told the outlet that Beijing may allow H200 imports because domestic chips are unlikely to close the country’s computing power gap in the near term, suggesting the move could create a window for domestic alternatives to scale.