China approves import of high-end Nvidia AI chips after weeks of uncertainty

China has approved imports of high-end Nvidia AI chips after weeks of uncertainty, with the latest approvals coming during Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to China this week, according to sources who spoke with Reuters. Other Chinese firms are waiting for approvals in future rounds, and Beijing is attaching conditions to the licenses that have not yet been finalized, the Reuters sources said.

One source told Reuters that the license terms were too restrictive and buyers had not yet turned their approvals into actual orders. The approvals signal Beijing’s prioritization of major internet companies that are spending billions to build data centers needed to develop AI services and to compete with U.S.

rivals, including OpenAI, the South China Morning Post reported. At the same time, regulators are trying to nurture China’s domestic semiconductor industry, the SCMP said. The SCMP said the first batch of chips was expected to go to big tech companies in urgent need of the GPUs, while access for state-backed firms, including telecom operators, was expected to remain tightly restricted.

Beijing has previously discouraged domestic technology companies from purchasing foreign chips unless absolutely needed, Reuters reported. One past proposal discussed by authorities would require each H200 purchase to be bundled with a set ratio of domestic chips.

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