US officials are having early discussions on whether to let Nvidia Corp. sell its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, according to people familiar with the matter.
No final decision has been made, the people emphasized, and it’s entirely possible that the idea remains an internal debate and never results in actual license approvals, which are required under export controls that Washington first imposed in 2022.
Still, the fact that H200 shipments are being considered is a major departure from the Trump administration’s earlier public stances on semiconductor export controls. It would represent a concession to Beijing that would almost certainly draw widespread opposition from China hawks in Washington.
It would also constitute a victory for Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang, who’s lobbied Trump’s team intensively for a reprieve from export controls that many within the administration consider crucial to US national security.