Why China is finally letting AI firms buy the Nvidia H200
Beijing aims to ‘temporarily ease the training bottleneck’ in China’s AI industry, but it remains focused on tech self-sufficiency, analysts say
For months, the United States and China have been locked in an unusual stand-off over cutting-edge chips – the building blocks of the artificial intelligence industry.
Now, however, China’s stance is beginning to change, as the government plans to let selected companies – including Alibaba Group Holding – buy limited numbers of the device, a source with knowledge of the matter told the South China Morning Post.
Besides Alibaba, the Chinese government has also informed ByteDance – the maker of TikTok – and leading AI start-up DeepSeek of the coming approvals, though companies will have to explain why they need to buy the Nvidia product rather than a locally made alternative, The Information reported on Wednesday.
The core consideration behind this approach is most likely to secure a window of opportunity for domestic AI chips to grow
China may allow H200 imports because domestic chips are unlikely to fill the country’s computing-power gap in the near term, said Shi Shenchang, a lawyer focusing on export controls at Shanghai-based Co-Effort Law Firm.