U.S. Clears Sales of NVIDIA H200 Chips to About 10 Chinese Firms, but Beijing Is Blocking Shipments

Export licenses issued in mid‑May 2026 authorize roughly ten Chinese companies to purchase NVIDIA H200 AI accelerators, allowing named buyers such as Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance and JD. to acquire the chips and approving Lenovo and Foxconn as distribution partners. The authorizations reportedly place purchase caps of up to 75,000 H200 units per buyer, creating a legal pathway for significant deliveries of advanced AI hardware.

Despite the clearances, no H200 units have been shipped to the approved Chinese purchasers. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told officials that Beijing is blocking the deliveries as part of a broader push to shield and develop China’s domestic semiconductor industry, and Chinese regulators have tightened scrutiny of foreign technology imports in line with that policy.

Analysts and officials cited in the reporting said Beijing’s moves reflect a strategic effort to accelerate domestic chip and AI infrastructure so China does not fall behind in the global AI race. They also note the Chinese semiconductor sector has made progress but still faces supply shortages, and domestically produced chips continue to trail leading U.S. parts on performance.

The standoff leaves authorized deals unfulfilled and highlights limits of export controls when recipient governments intervene. Reporting also says the U.S. sought a 25% share of chip sales revenue as a condition that prompted concern in China about potential tampering and import rules. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang reportedly traveled to Beijing with President Trump to press the agreement, illustrating how commercial, political and regulatory pressures are entwined in cross‑border AI supply chains.