One of the world's biggest chipmaking company,Nvidia has told Chinese clients it aims to begin shipping its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China before the Lunar New Year in mid-February, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Initial deliveries are expected to come from existing inventory, with shipments totaling between 5,000 and 10,000 modules — equivalent to roughly 40,000 to 80,000 H200 chips, reports Reuters.
Nvidia has also indicated it plans to expand production capacity with new orders opening in the second quarter of 2026.
However, the timeline remains uncertain as Chinese authorities have yet to approve purchased of the advanced chips.
The potential shipments would mark the first deliveries of H200 chips to China after U.S. President Donald Trump said this month Washington would allow sales subject to a 25% fee.
The move represents a significant policy shift from the previous U.S. ban on advanced AI chip exports to China over national security concerns.
The H200, part of Nvidia’s Hopper generation, remains widely used in AI applications despite being overtaken by newer Blackwell chips.
Additionally, Chinese tech giants such as Alibaba and ByteDance have expressed interest, as the H200 offers performance far exceeding Nvidia’s downgraded H20 chip designed for the Chinese market.
