The United States intends to limit the sale of Nvidia H200 accelerators to Chinese firms to 75,000 units per customer.

Short version of news about Nvidia H200 accelerator shipments to China

What is happening: President Trump’s approval was given last year, but an export license has not yet been issued. All levels of the U.S. government are involved in the discussion.

Planned shipment limit: A maximum of 75,000 accelerators per Chinese company (about half of their desired volume). Total for the Chinese market: Up to one million H200s could be shipped into the country.

Situation with AMD Instinct MI325: Shipments of these accelerators are also limited, so there is no evidence of discrimination against Nvidia.

Why shipments are delayed
1. Export licenses – the paperwork process is delayed and terms are being negotiated in the U.S. government.
2. Security requirements – authorities want to ensure that the accelerators will not be used for military purposes or harm the interests of American companies.
3. Chinese giants – cloud companies such as Alibaba plan to use H200s for data centers outside China (e.g., Malaysia), complicating the calculation of how many accelerators are needed.

What the H200 model means
- A compromise option: faster than the outdated H20, but not as modern as the new Blackwell family chips.
- Bureaucratic reaction: even within the U.S. some officials doubt the feasibility of shipments.

- Trump and Nvidia founder Jensen Huang support sales, but not everyone agrees.

Potential restrictions
- Three of the four largest Chinese companies could be deemed linked to China’s defense sector, depriving them of the right to purchase accelerators.
- If fewer than one million H200s reach China, it will be a compromise between Nvidia and U.S. policymakers.

- With 75,000 units, one company could build a center with up to 100 MW – “small” compared to American expectations.

Conclusion
A tense process of approving shipments of Nvidia H200 accelerators to China is underway: the U.S. government seeks to balance defense interests, economic benefits, and technological competition. A final decision may be made at the upcoming meeting of U.S. and Chinese leaders in April.