US President Donald Trump has announced that his administration will now allow Nvidia’s H200 AI chips to be sold to China, but only under strict conditions including a 25% government cut on sales and export caps designed to protect US supply. For those unaware, H200 is part of Nvidia’s Hopper generation which is a hit-performance chip sold in the US and other global makers. Unlike the earlier H20 chip, which was specifically slowed down for export, the H200 is not a China-only design.Trump has acknowledged that the H200 has already surpassed by Nvidia’s newer Blackwell and Rubin chips, but said the US would still benefit financially, “It’s not the highest level, but it’s a pretty good level, and China wants them and other people want them — and we’re going to be making 25% on the sale of those chips, basically.”
Regulatory safeguards
A Department of Commerce filing published Tuesday outlined requirements for the exports:
- Exporters must certify sufficient U.S. supply of H200 chips.
- Shipments to China capped at 50% of U.S. customer volumes.
- Chips must undergo independent, third-party testing in the U.S. before shipping.
- Customers must meet security procedure standards.
- The filing also referenced AMD’s MI325X chip, which faces similar rules.
Nvidia welcomed the decision of US government
Chipset major Nvidia has welcomed the decision of the Trump administration. The company claims that the decision of the US government balances competitiveness with national security. “Offering H200 to approved commercial customers, vetted by the Department of Commerce, strikes a thoughtful balance that is great for America,” the company said.Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently told reported at the Consumer Electronics Show 2026 that the demand from the Chinese customer is ‘very high’ and that Nvidia has also restarted the production of H200 chips. “We’ve fired up our supply chain, and H200s are flowing through the line,” Huang said.
Chinese reluctance to the Trump decision
Despite approval from US, it is still unclear whether Chinese regulators will allow imports. Beijing has been pushing for domestic AI chip development, even if current offerings lag behind Nvidia’s technology. Huang himself cautioned that he does not expect any official announcements from China, only “purchase orders.”
