Rumor
Chinese Authorities Reportedly Implementing Approval Process for H200 GPU
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 12:21 PM
A report suggests that the Chinese authorities will subject the NVIDIA H200 GPU to an official approval process, with major technology companies like ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, DeepSeek, and Xiaomi expected to submit applications.
Context
The U.S. government has reportedly granted approval for Nvidia to export its H200 AI chips to China, effective early December 2025. This authorization comes with significant caveats, including a roughly 25% surcharge on sales and a restriction to "approved customers" only. The H200 GPU is a powerful chip, featuring 144 GB HBM3 memory, which could substantially enhance large-model training capabilities for Chinese firms.
However, Beijing is simultaneously preparing its own regulatory framework to control access to these advanced chips. This proposed regime may require domestic buyers to justify why local alternatives cannot meet their needs. Major Chinese tech and AI companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, Xiaomi, ByteDance, and startups like DeepSeek are anticipated to be among the primary applicants seeking to purchase the H200, navigating both U.S. export controls and China's domestic approval process.
Sources (9)
Nvidia can sell its H200 AI chip to China, but will Beijing want them?Trump approves Nvidia H200 exports to China, with 25% fee attachedNvidia reportedly wins H200 exports to ChinaTrump: Nvidia can sell H200 AI chips to China if U.S. gets ...US to allow Nvidia H200 chip shipments to China, Trump saysChina could limit access to Nvidia's H200 chips despite Trump's nodPresident Trump says that Nvidia can begin to sell its H200 ...US to allow Nvidia H200 chip shipments to China
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