(Washington, D.C.) Easing tensions between the U.S. and China may allow the U.S. to relax restrictions on advanced technology exports to China. Reports indicate that the Trump administration is considering approving Nvidia's sale of the more advanced H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chip to China.
Reuters and Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that the U.S. Commerce Department is reviewing whether to amend its policy prohibiting the sale of H200 chips to China. However, the sources also emphasized that nothing is finalized and changes are still possible.
The White House declined to comment on the reports but stated that the Trump administration is committed to ensuring U.S. leadership in global technology and maintaining national security.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration's willingness to explore exporting the more advanced H200 chip to China demonstrates a more friendly attitude towards Beijing following President Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of October, and represents a significant departure from its previous stance on semiconductor export controls.
If the Commerce Department ultimately allows the export of H200 chips to China, it will be seen as a concession to Beijing and is bound to provoke strong opposition from hardliners on China in the U.S. This is a victory for Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has been lobbying the Trump administration to ease export controls.
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Nvidia did not directly respond to the news, but stated that the current regulatory environment prevents it from offering competitive AI data center chips in China, thus "handing over a huge market to rapidly growing foreign competitors."
Nvidia's H200 chip, launched two years ago, is not part of the high-end Blackwell series. Like the H20 chip currently approved for export to China, it uses the previous generation Hopper technology, but its functionality is estimated to be twice as powerful.
Trump had previously stated that he might discuss selling Blackwell chips to China with Xi Jinping at their meeting, but the issue was ultimately not discussed. However, sources say that officials from both countries continued to discuss in the following weeks which chip sale would be a viable option for both sides.
Reportedly, some US officials believe that the H200 chip is a compromise compared to Blackwell chips. Other officials believe that newer chips should be provided to China, narrowing internal discussions to a choice between Blackwell and Hopper series chips.
The U.S. Congress is seeking to pass a bill requiring chip manufacturers to prioritize supplying U.S. customers. The bill, which enjoys broad bipartisan support, aims to prevent the Trump administration from easing restrictions on exports of advanced chips to China. Earlier media reports indicated that the White House has been urging members of Congress to veto the bill.
Senators from both parties are also drafting a bill to block the Commerce Department from approving exports of all currently restricted chips to China, including the H200 chip.
