China’s Foreign Ministry did not say whether the country would permit purchases of Nvidia’s H200 chips at its Dec. 9, 2025, briefing, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would allow exports.
Asked whether China would allow the purchases and whether the two countries’ leaders had communicated about the U.S. decision, spokesperson Guo Jiakun said: “We have noticed the reports. China always advocates that China and the United States achieve mutual benefit through cooperation.” His response provided neither a purchasing decision nor details of communication between the leaders.
Trump said on Dec. 8 that Nvidia would be allowed to ship H200 chips to approved customers in China and other countries.
Earlier scrutiny of Nvidia’s H20
The Cyberspace Administration of China said it summoned Nvidia on July 31, 2025, to explain alleged security vulnerabilities and backdoor risks in H20 chips sold to China and submit supporting documentation. The regulator’s statement did not establish that the chips contained backdoors.
Nvidia said its chips contained no backdoors, kill switches or spyware.
In its Aug. 27 earnings release, Nvidia reported no H20 sales to China-based customers during its second quarter of fiscal 2026, which ended July 27, 2025. Its third-quarter revenue outlook issued at that time assumed no H20 shipments to China. That assumption concerned the separate H20 product and did not establish restrictions on H200 purchases.
