Nvidia H200 GPUs begin reaching China under new export licenses

Nvidia's H200 AI GPUs are now entering China under case-by-case US export licenses, with each company's allowance reportedly capped around 100,000 units, most of which must stay outside mainland China. Domestically made Chinese AI chips have already gained significant ground in the local market despite the opening.

Why it matters: US export policy is loosening just as it becomes less decisive: China's chipmakers have used the restriction years to build real alternatives, so the H200's arrival may matter less than it would have two years ago. It fits a pattern of China's chip self-sufficiency push showing up elsewhere this week, including reports of CXMT using contested Samsung DRAM technology and record results at SMIC.