Markets
March 18, 2026
For about three years, the US kept tight export controls on advanced chips. This went on to cut China’s reach. But now, without any formal announcement, the US government has opened its door for firms from China to buy Nvidia’s H200 chips. This comes while Nvidia moves ahead with a parallel plan that could change the market yet again.
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Nvidia Builds Dedicated China Chip as US Approves H200 Sales This Week
Nvidia has managed to garner the approvals it needed from both the US and Chinese governments to resume shipments of its H200 processors. According to reports, the chip, positioned just below Nvidia’s top lineup, had become a point of friction in the overall China AI chip ban. But now things are back in play.
It is worth noting that Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang said the firm has already received orders from several Chinese customers. Nvidia has also restarted its production. Before restrictions were tightened, China accounted for 13% of Nvidia’s revenue. This made the Chinese market too large to ignore.
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The timing of this stands out. Chinese firms are not standing still. Several firms linked to domestic manufacturing, including the ones linked to Hua Hong Group, China’s second-largest chipmaker, have been pouring money into local alternatives. The firm is preparing a 7-nanometer process at its Shanghai plant. At the same time, tech giants like Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance were already seeking import approvals earlier this year.
During the annual GTC conference, it was revealed that, along with the H200 approvals, Nvidia is also working on a version of its Groq-based chips for China. These are designed to run AI systems once they are trained. This puts it in a different part of the market, where competition is already rising. Chinese firms like Baidu have been building their own chips for this space.
The ripple effects are already showing up. Samsung, which is manufacturing some of Nvidia’s newer AI chips, saw a notable surge in its shares. This came after Jensen Huang confirmed production was picking up as China reopens to Nvidia hardware.
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