TLDR
- Nvidia stock rose ~2.3% after reports the U.S. cleared around 10 Chinese companies to buy H200 chips
- Approved buyers include Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com, with each permitted up to 75,000 chips
- CEO Jensen Huang joined a White House delegation to Beijing after a personal invite from President Trump
- No deals have been completed yet — Chinese firms pulled back following guidance from Beijing
- China once made up 13% of Nvidia’s revenue; Huang has estimated China’s AI market could be worth $50 billion this year
Nvidia stock climbed around 2.3% on Wednesday after Reuters reported the U.S. government has cleared roughly 10 Chinese companies to purchase the H200 chip — Nvidia’s second-most powerful AI chip.
The stock was trading around $225.83, up $5.05 on the day, with premarket gains of around 1.8% earlier in the session.
Approved buyers include Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com. A handful of distributors — Lenovo and Foxconn among them — have also received the green light. Each buyer can purchase up to 75,000 chips, either directly from Nvidia or through approved intermediaries.
Lenovo confirmed it is “one of several companies approved to sell H200 in China as part of Nvidia’s export license.”
CEO Jensen Huang made the trip to Beijing as part of a U.S. delegation. He wasn’t on the original list but joined after a direct invitation from President Trump, who reportedly picked him up in Alaska en route to a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The visit is seen as an attempt to restart Nvidia’s stalled China business — a market the company once dominated.
No Deals Done Yet
Despite the approvals, nothing has been signed. Chinese companies have pulled back from placing orders following guidance from Beijing. Pressure is reportedly mounting in the Chinese capital to block or closely examine any purchases.
What triggered the shift on the Chinese side isn’t entirely clear, though Reuters noted that changes on the U.S. side played a role.
The back-and-forth leaves Nvidia in a holding pattern — approvals in hand, but no chips moving yet.
What’s at Stake for Nvidia
Before U.S. export restrictions tightened, Nvidia held around 95% of China’s advanced chip market. That’s a dominant position that has since eroded sharply.
China once accounted for 13% of Nvidia’s total revenue. Huang has previously said he believes China’s AI market alone could be worth $50 billion this year — making it a market Nvidia clearly doesn’t want to walk away from.
Chinese tech stocks also moved on the news. Alibaba rose 8.18%, JD.com jumped 7.24%, and Tencent gained 4.80%. Lenovo added 1.66%.
The H200 is Nvidia’s second-most powerful AI chip, sitting below the flagship H100 in its data center lineup. It became a focus of export negotiations after restrictions were placed on the more powerful models.
Huang’s presence in Beijing, at Trump’s invitation, marks a notable moment in the ongoing effort to find a workable path for chip sales to Chinese buyers.
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