Nvidia’s CEO says the company has not received any orders from Chinese customers for its H200 AI chips because Beijing has not yet approved their import, despite the U.S. issuing export licenses under strict conditions. The situation remains fluid, with conditional approvals granted to major Chinese tech firms but no confirmed shipments.
Nvidia’s China Dilemma: No Orders Yet for H200 Chips
Nvidia Corp. has yet to receive any orders from Chinese customers for its H200 artificial intelligence (AI) processors, Chief Executive Jensen Huang told reporters — underscoring how geopolitical tensions and export controls have put a damper on trade in one of the world’s largest AI markets.
Despite strong demand in China’s booming AI sector, Beijing has not finalized approval for the imports, leaving Nvidia in a holding pattern even as potential buyers await clarity on licensing conditions. Huang said China’s regulatory decision is still pending and expressed hope for a “favourable decision,” but confirmed that no purchase orders have materialized.
This development follows reporting that Nvidia has not received H200 orders from Chinese customers, even as the U.S. government has approved restricted exports to the country.
The Policy Backdrop: Export Controls and Licensing
The absence of orders reflects wider policy dynamics between Washington and Beijing. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) revised its export license review policy in mid-January 2026 to a case-by-case approval framework for advanced AI chips destined for China and Macau. This shift moves away from a previous presumption of denial but imposes stringent technical, security and supply conditions on each license.
The U.S. continues to limit exports of frontier semiconductor technologies to protect national security, while still allowing certain high-performance chips such as Nvidia’s H200 to be considered for export under strict oversight.
Conditional Approvals, Not Shipments
Recent reporting indicates that Beijing may have granted conditional approvals for large Chinese tech companies — including Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance — to prepare for potential H200 purchases. However, these approvals came with caveats, and crucially, no confirmed orders or shipments have taken place yet.
Sources also noted that while the Chinese government has indicated that some purchases could proceed, restrictive licensing terms have discouraged companies from actually placing orders.
Strategic Tension: AI Ambitions vs. Self-Reliance
China’s careful approach is shaped by its broader goal of reducing reliance on foreign semiconductor technology. After initially instructing companies to pause H200 purchases earlier in January 2026, regulators are now attempting a calibrated path that permits imports only under specific conditions — balancing strategic autonomy with the economic imperative of accessing leading-edge AI hardware.
For Chinese tech firms, unrestricted access to Nvidia’s H200 — one of the most advanced AI accelerators available — could accelerate large-scale AI development across cloud, generative models and data analytics. But Beijing is wary of allowing unfettered imports that could weaken domestic semiconductor initiatives.
The H200’s Role in the Global AI Ecosystem
The Nvidia H200 chip — part of the company’s Hopper-architecture family — stands out for its high memory bandwidth and performance in AI training and inference workloads. While not as powerful as Nvidia’s latest ultra-high-end chips, the H200 represents a meaningful leap over prior generations and commands strong interest among AI developers worldwide.
The strategic tug of war over these chips illustrates how semiconductors have become a flashpoint in U.S.–China relations, with export controls on advanced computing hardware at the center of broader economic and technological competition.
What Comes Next
For Nvidia, the stalemate in China comes at a critical moment — demand for AI accelerators remains strong globally, but export policy uncertainty and regulatory hurdles cloud near-term revenue prospects in Asia’s largest market.
Geopolitical watchers and industry analysts will be watching for:
- Whether Beijing formalizes import approvals for H200 chips beyond conditional preparation notices.
- How Chinese cloud and AI players respond if licensing terms are eased or tightened.
- Potential adjustments in U.S. export policy ahead of high-level diplomatic engagements between Washington and Beijing.
