Federal authorities have authorized roughly 10 Chinese companies to purchase Nvidia’s H200 artificial intelligence chips, but zero shipments have occurred thus far, according to three sources with knowledge of the situation. This leaves a significant technology transaction in uncertainty while the company’s chief executive seeks progress during a visit to China this week.
The CEO, who wasn’t originally part of a White House delegation traveling to Beijing, was added to the group following an invitation from President Donald Trump, one source revealed. Trump brought him aboard during a stop in Alaska while heading to meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, sparking optimism that the visit might resolve the stalled chip sales to China.
The situation underscores how tensions between the U.S. and China over technology are now disrupting even authorized commerce, placing the world’s most valuable company and leading chip manufacturer in a difficult position between competing national interests.
Prior to stricter U.S. export restrictions, Nvidia held approximately 95% of China’s advanced semiconductor market. China previously represented 13% of the company’s revenue, and the CEO has estimated that the country’s AI market alone could reach $50 billion in value this year.
The U.S. Commerce Department has given approval to around 10 Chinese corporations, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance and JD.com, to buy Nvidia’s H200 semiconductors, the sources said, speaking anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the topic.
Several distributors including Lenovo and Foxconn have also received authorization, they indicated. Purchasers may buy either directly from Nvidia or through these intermediaries, with each approved customer allowed to acquire up to 75,000 chips according to U.S. licensing conditions, two sources noted.
The names of the authorized purchasers and details about their connections with Nvidia and approved distributors regarding the sought-after AI chip have not been disclosed before.
A Commerce Department representative, which manages export restrictions like those affecting H200 semiconductors, refused to provide comment.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission did not reply to comment requests.
Lenovo verified in a statement to Reuters that the company “is one of several companies approved to sell H200 in China as part of Nvidia’s export license.”
Nvidia, Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, JD.com and Foxconn did not reply to comment requests.
The CEO told state broadcaster CCTV on Thursday that he hoped Trump and Xi would build on their good relationship during talks in Beijing to improve two-way ties.
Even with U.S. authorization, transactions have stopped moving forward, as Chinese companies stepped back following direction from Beijing, one source indicated.
The change in China was partially caused by developments on the U.S. side, though what specifically changed is not clear, the person explained.
In Beijing, pressure is growing to block or carefully review the orders, a separate fourth source stated.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick supported that assessment, telling a Senate hearing last month that “the Chinese central government has not let them, as of yet, buy the chips, because they’re trying to keep their investment focused on their own domestic industry.”
Beijing’s reluctance shows a strategic decision, as officials worry imports might undermine efforts to create domestic AI chips. Although China’s AI semiconductors still trail Nvidia, companies like DeepSeek increasingly promote their use of domestic chips including those made by Huawei.
Their shift to Huawei highlights Nvidia’s vulnerable position in China. The CEO has cautioned that U.S. export restrictions are weakening the company’s presence in the market, stating its share of AI accelerators in China has essentially dropped to zero.
The route to completing a sale has been blocked by complex requirements from both nations. U.S. regulations from January require Chinese purchasers to show they had established “sufficient security procedures” and would not use the chips for military applications.
Nvidia must also verify adequate inventory in the United States.
Trump negotiated an agreement where the U.S. would receive 25% of revenue from the chip sales — a framework requiring the chips to move through U.S. territory before shipping to China, since U.S. law doesn’t allow direct export fees.
The agreement has created concerns in Beijing about possible tampering or hidden security flaws, even though sources characterize it mainly as a way around legal limitations.
Review in China has also increased after the State Council released two recent supply chain security rules, leading to a government-wide push to find and remove potential foreign dependencies in critical technology infrastructure, the fourth source said.
The ongoing delay has pleased China hardliners in Washington, who reject Trump administration arguments that such sales would discourage Chinese competitors from narrowing the gap with U.S. chip designers.
“Any deal that allows Nvidia to sell more chips to China means fewer Nvidia chips for U.S. firms, and a smaller U.S. lead in AI over China,” said Chris McGuire, senior fellow for China and emerging technologies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“It is remarkable that President Trump keeps getting convinced to put Nvidia’s interest ahead of America’s.”
