The US recently eased export restrictions and opened the Chinese market to high-end AI chips, but Beijing has chosen to apply the brakes, demanding that several Chinese technology companies suspend purchases of Nvidia H200 chips, reigniting the chip war. Social media reactions suggest this move reflects not only the technological rivalry between the US and China, but may also be retaliation for the recent US attack on Venezuela.
China abruptly applied the brakes, demanding that companies suspend purchases of Nvidia chips.
The Information reports that the Chinese government has instructed local technology companies to suspend purchases of H200 artificial intelligence chips from Nvidia. Sources indicate this is a temporary measure aimed at preventing local businesses from stockpiling US chips before the government finalizes its policy.
Just weeks ago, the U.S. government relaxed export policies, allowing Nvidia to sell H200 chips to China, provided it complies with the new regulations and the strategy of "using U.S.-made chips to counter China's domestic semiconductor development." However, China was reportedly reluctant to use the chips at the time.
( China reportedly refuses to use Nvidia's H200 chip, revealing the US chip strategy )
Beijing's strategic considerations: avoid stockpiling and support domestic chip manufacturing.
Sources familiar with the matter indicate that Chinese officials continue to send signals emphasizing that they may further guide companies to adopt domestically produced AI chips, such as those from Huawei, to reduce reliance on US design technology.
Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the United States, stated: "China will base its actions on its own development, while simultaneously maintaining the stability of global industries and supply chains, demonstrating its stance of pursuing both external cooperation and internal self-reliance."
Even so, Tencent, a Chinese company, has been exposed for indirectly obtaining Nvidia Blackwell series chips, which were previously banned from being exported to China, from Japanese companies through "computing power rental".
Community Interpretation: Low-Intensity Countermeasures, Putting Pressure on Huida
Community analysis points out that while Beijing cannot influence US policy due to long-term US restrictions on China's access to advanced AI chips and technologies, it can leverage its massive market demand to pressure US companies like Nvidia. Compared to a complete ban, suspending purchases conveys Beijing's stance while avoiding larger-scale trade or technological tensions.
Another theory suggests that this move could be a "low-intensity retaliation" for the US's surprise attack on Venezuela and cutting off China's oil supply.
Nvidia responded: Demand remains; we patiently await policy clarification.
Faced with market concerns, Nvidia chose to downplay the impact. During CES , Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated that demand for H200 in the Chinese market remains strong, and the orders received at this stage are seen as a potentially positive sign.
The H200 is a key product in NVIDIA's lineup before the release of its latest Blackwell series, playing a crucial role in AI training and inference. Despite this, NVDA's stock price still rose slightly by 1.01% to $189.18, indicating that investors remain optimistic about its long-term potential.
US export control policies remain uncertain, and the market is choosing to wait and see.
From the US perspective, the Trump administration's approval of H200 exports to China came with conditions, including revenue sharing, and the export approval process was quite cumbersome, highlighting the significant impact of US export controls on this chip tug-of-war.
Today, this policy game surrounding H200 once again symbolizes that AI and semiconductors are no longer just commercial products, but key bargaining chips in geopolitical competition.
This article, which discusses China's demand that local companies suspend purchases of Nvidia H200 chips in hopes of supporting the domestic semiconductor industry, first appeared on ABMedia, a ABMedia .
