US President Donald Trump has confirmed that Nvidia will be able to sell its H200 artificial intelligence chips to “approved customers” in China.
Trump made the announcement Monday via social media, saying, “We will protect national security, create American jobs, and maintain America’s leadership in artificial intelligence.”
The approval affects other American chipmakers, including AMD, and follows lobbying efforts by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who met with officials in Washington last week.
Nvidia has been at the center of ongoing trade and technology tensions between the United States and China, after restrictions were imposed on exports of advanced chips.
In early July, Trump had revoked an earlier ban on chip sales to China, but declared that Nvidia must pay 15% of its revenue earned in China to the US government.
Reports from China indicated that Beijing ordered its major technology companies to avoid Nvidia chips made for the Chinese market.
In response to the new development, Nvidia said: “We applaud President Trump’s decision to allow the US chip industry to compete to support good-paying American jobs and manufacturing.” The H200 chip is a generation behind Nvidia’s new Blackwell model, considered its most powerful AI semiconductor.
Huang previously told the BBC that the United States needed to “make sure people can access this technology from all over the world, including China.”
He has also said that China is advancing its chip manufacturing capabilities and is closely following the United States.
Following the announcement, Nvidia added: “Offering H200 to approved commercial customers, vetted by the Department of Commerce, strikes a thoughtful balance that is great for the United States.”
The company’s shares rose slightly on the news.
Trump added in his post that “25% (sic) will be paid to the United States of America.” The White House has yet to clarify the revenue structure and the move is expected to draw criticism from members of Congress focused on national security.
Analysts say the decision may help facilitate negotiations with China over rare earth minerals, which are vital for electronics manufacturing. China controls most of the processing of these resources globally.
According to Alex Capri of the National University of Singapore, allowing certain chip sales “buys time” for the United States in talks with China and limits disruption to supply chains.
He noted that China is likely still working to reduce dependence on American technology.
Research from Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology shows that the Chinese military is using advanced American-designed chips as artificial intelligence defense tools.
Cole McFaul, a senior research analyst at the center, said: “By making it easier for the Chinese to access these high-quality AI chips, it allows China to more easily use and deploy AI systems for military applications. They want to leverage advanced chips to gain an advantage on the battlefield.”
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