Trump clears Nvidia to resume China exports of H200 chip

9th Dec 2025 08:04

(Sharecast News) - US president Donald Trump has cleared Nvidia to resume exports of its advanced H200 artificial intelligence chips to "approved customers" in China, marking a sharp reversal of recent efforts to curb Beijing's access to cutting-edge semiconductor technology.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said late on Monday that he had informed Chinese president Xi Jinping that exports would be allowed "under conditions that allow for continued strong National Security," adding that "25% will be paid to the United States of America," though he did not clarify how the fee would be collected, according to the Financial Times.

The decision extended to other US chipmakers, including AMD and Intel, and followed lobbying by Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, who argued that restricting sales would erode US leadership in AI and damage domestic manufacturing.

Nvidia, the world's most valuable chipmaker, welcomed the move, saying it "strikes a thoughtful balance that is great for America," the BBC reported.

The H200 is significantly more powerful than Nvidia's H20 chip, which was designed to comply with earlier export rules, and offers capabilities close to those of its newest Blackwell semiconductors.

Analysts told CNBC the shift could provide China with a meaningful advantage in the race to deploy advanced AI systems, particularly given Beijing's existing lead in areas such as power infrastructure and engineering talent.

The decision triggered a backlash in Washington.

Senior Democratic senators, including Jeanne Shaheen and Jack Reed, described the move as a "colossal economic and national security failure" that handed China access to AI chips "vastly more capable than anything China can make," the FT said.

Critics argued the technology could accelerate Chinese military AI development, echoing concerns raised by researchers at Georgetown University cited by the BBC that the People's Liberation Army is already using advanced US-designed chips.

The pivot underscored a dramatic shift from the Biden administration's export-control regime, which sought to slow China's technological advance by limiting access to high-performance chips.

Trump had accused his predecessor of forcing US companies to create "degraded" products that "nobody wanted," a policy he declared "OVER!" in his post.

US lawmakers had meanwhile proposed legislation that would block exports of high-end chips, including the H200, for 30 months, while Chinese authorities previously discouraged domestic firms from buying downgraded US semiconductors.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.