The US government confirmed that a very small number of Nvidia's H200 artificial intelligence chips were shipped to China under approved export licenses as of mid-2026. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] Jeffrey Kessler, US Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, described the shipments as "a very small quantity of chips, so it’s trivial," emphasizing that only few shipments have taken place despite multiple licenses being issued. [3]
The H200 was the most powerful AI chip before Nvidia released its Blackwell series at the end of 2024, offering larger memory and higher bandwidth. [1, 2, 3, 4] US President Trump approved the export of these chips to China in December 2025, marking a significant easing of prior restrictions on high-end AI technology exports. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Following the presidential approval, the US Commerce Department formalized rules in January 2026 that included a 25% export tariff on H200 shipments and imposed strict controls to prevent the chips from being used for Chinese military or weapons programs. [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] Each export license also requires rigorous national security vetting to ensure chip performance matches stated civilian uses and is not diverted for unauthorized purposes. [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] Kessler noted in Chinese, "每一个H200晶片许可证申请者都必须满足严格的国家安全要求，包括确保晶片的实际性能达到预期水平，而不是超出预期。" [4]
About 10 major Chinese companies, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com, received approval to purchase the H200 chips starting May 2026, although actual deliveries to these firms had not occurred immediately. [1, 5, 6, 7] In July, three additional companies — ZTE Kangxun Telecom, Maginfra, and a Kingsoft Cloud subsidiary — were also granted US permission to import Nvidia H200 or AMD AI chips. [1, 5, 6, 7]
Some US lawmakers have criticized the Commerce Department for not updating its export control entity list since October 2025. Representative Gregory Meeks said President Trump "weakened existing safeguards" by using export controls as leverage in broader China negotiations. [5] Republican Congressman Bill Huizenga questioned the guidance allowing Chinese companies to potentially acquire Blackwell chips through smuggling or indirect routes. [6]
The US Commerce Department has recently paused adding over 100 Chinese AI and chip companies flagged as national security risks, including DeepSeek and ChangXin Memory, to its entities list. [5, 6, 7] Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have tightened import approvals for some H200 chips over concerns the shipments could hinder domestic chip development. [1, 4]
The US Commerce Department or Nvidia has not disclosed the exact number of chips shipped or the Chinese buyers involved. Further shipments and licensing decisions are expected to continue being governed by stringent export controls and ongoing national security reviews. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
