China grants approval for firms to import Nvidia's H200 AI chips

China has approved its first batch of Nvidia’s H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips for import, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters, marking a shift in position as Beijing seeks to balance its AI needs against spurring domestic development.

- 

The approval covering several hundred thousand H200 chips was granted during Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang’s visit to China this week, the sources said.

The first batch of approvals has been allocated primarily to three major Chinese internet companies, with other enterprises now joining a queue for subsequent approvals, one of the sources said. They declined to name the companies that received the initial clearances.

The H200, Nvidia’s second most powerful AI chip, has emerged as a major flashpoint in US-China relations. Despite strong demand from Chinese firms and US approval for exports, Beijing’s hesitation to allow imports has been the main barrier to shipments.