Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has announced that Chinese demand for the company’s H200 advanced AI processors has reached high levels following the Trump administration’s approval of sales to China.
The Wall Street Journal reports that while speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Huang provided an update on the company’s efforts to resume chip sales to China, the world’s second-largest market. Huang revealed that Nvidia has activated its supply chain to meet the anticipated demand and is completing the final licensing details with the United States government.
The approval to sell H200 processors in China came in early December when President Trump informed Chinese leader Xi Jinping of his decision to authorize export licenses for the advanced chips. The arrangement includes specific conditions designed to protect national security interests, along with a requirement that Nvidia provide the federal government with a 25 percent share of sales revenue from the Chinese market. The company had been effectively excluded from the market since April, when the administration implemented more stringent export controls on advanced artificial intelligence chips.
Huang and other Nvidia executives have maintained frequent communication with Washington officials, including President Trump, throughout the past year in efforts to reduce export restrictions. In August, the company achieved a partial victory when Huang persuaded Trump to allow sales of the H20 chip, a less powerful version of the H200 specifically designed for the Chinese market, in exchange for sharing 15 percent of sales with the government. According to estimates from the Institute for Progress, a think tank that has previously raised national security concerns regarding China, the H200 possesses six times the processing power of the H20.
However, Nvidia’s initial attempt to return to the Chinese market encountered obstacles when Chinese officials discouraged domestic customers from purchasing the company’s chips and encouraged them to use domestically produced alternatives from manufacturers such as Huawei. In November, Trump rejected another Nvidia proposal to sell a reduced-capability version of the Blackwell GPU, the company’s latest generation of powerful artificial intelligence chips.
During his Tuesday remarks, Huang indicated that Chinese officials have thus far refrained from actively urging customers to avoid Nvidia products. He stated that actual demand levels will provide the most definitive indication of Beijing’s position on Nvidia’s chips and expressed confidence that no issues would arise from the Chinese side.
Huang explained that the company monitors market sentiment through purchase orders rather than official statements or announcements. He noted that President Trump has already confirmed the H200 export license approval, and once the administrative processes are completed, the company anticipates receiving purchase orders.
The financial implications of Nvidia’s access to China are substantial. In August, CFO Colette Kress projected that Nvidia could ship up to $5 billion worth of chips to China each quarter, with potential for increases if orders strengthen.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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