Nvidia cuts Asian buyers by half while US grants ZTE access to H200 AI chips amid China tensions

US gov't allows Chinese telecom giant ZTE to purchase Nvidia H200 AI chips -- firm joins Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance in access to Hopper tech

The Sino-American chip wars have resulted in many back-and-forth salvos and negotiations as the countries try and strike a balance between technology access and trade. Currently, both sides have set respective import and export controls, letting specific companies on a case-by-case basis. Today, Reuters reports that Chinese telecoms giant ZTE and server firm Maginfra have received U.S. approval to buy Nvidia's last-gen H200 "Hopper" chips. ZTE joins a club that counts Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com among the roughly 10-strong group of Chinese companies with U.S. clearance for those purchases. Additionally, an apparent subsidiary of Kingsoft Cloud got approval to buy AMD accelerators equivalent to Nvidia's H200, presumably Instinct MI300X-class chips. Over on the Chinese side of the table, Reuters remarks that there's no word on whether the respective authorities will give ZTE the go-ahead for import, as the country has taken on a protectionist stance as it tries to grow its own chip industry. The country has discouraged firms from purchasing foreign tech and has instead pushed companies to acquire homegrown accelerators. Huawei in particular has made great strides both technologically and financially. But even with those domestic production initiatives, the Chinese hunger for AI silicon is so deep that six months ago, Reuters said the nation's tech firms had more than two million H200 chips on order, far more than what Nvidia had on hand at the time. We'd venture that hunger has barely subsided. ZTE might not be a familiar name Stateside, but the corporation is one of China's largest telecommunication conglomerates, and among many other ventures, it sells all sorts of carrier network gear that's installed worldwide, along with corresponding client-facing equipment, including phones and IoT equipment. Like most any sizable technological venture, ZTE has joined in on the cloud computing and AI push, so it needs accelerators to make those ambitions reality. The current status of the AI chip trade situation is roughly that the U.S. allows Chinese firms to buy AI chips up to and including the Hopper family (meaning no Blackwell chips), with a 25% export tariff, though final decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. Over on Chinese shores, Beijing's authorities play their cards close to their chest and dole out approvals as they see fit, with no clear rules seemingly set. But China is, of course, a global power with trade connections to most everyone, so interested firms were able to get their hands on Blackwell chips through various creative (and potentially illicit) means. Whether this change will actually clear the way for any great volumes of H200 accelerators to make their way into ZTE's data centers remains to be seen. CNBC cites a U.S. trade official who today stated that "very few shipments against licenses for H200s and equivalents have taken place. It's a very small quantity of chips" during a congressional hearing. If H200 shipments become material to Nvidia's bottom line, we'll almost certainly hear about it in future comments or earnings reports. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

Nvidia slashes list of authorized customers in Asia in a bid to reduce AI chip smuggling, report claims -- company sent field inspectors, called customers to check if business is genuine after pressure from Washington

AI tech giant Nvidia, which builds some of the most coveted AI chips in the world, has reportedly created a new "whitelist" of verified companies to help prevent its products from getting smuggled into China. According to the Financial Times, this roster cuts the number of authorized clients by more than half, with those remaining having passed tougher compliance inspections to ensure that they are genuine businesses, not shell companies designed to forward Nvidia GPUs and servers into China. Some of the steps that Nvidia took to help safeguard its chips reportedly included sending staff to customer data centers, contract verification, and interviewing end users. Sources told the publication that the company made this move after Washington pressured it into tightening its legal compliance, which comes months after the arrest of Supermicro co-founder Yih-Shyan "Wally" Liaw, alongside two other suspects, for allegedly smuggling $2.5 billion worth of Nvidia hardware into China. This clampdown also extended into Singapore, which saw the seizure of a $42-million mansion tied to alleged AI GPU smugglers, and Taiwan, where authorities raided the offices of Supermicro and two supply-chain partners as part of a chip smuggling probe. Nvidia was not immediately available for comment on the news. Although the U.S. has banned the latest AI GPUs for export into China since 2022, various investigations showed Chinese companies could still easily get their hands on these coveted chips until recently. Washington's and its allies' crackdown on AI GPU smuggling have cut supply in China, which is now making it harder for AI companies to procure the processors they need. President Donald Trump took a 180-degree turn in December 2025 and finally allowed Nvidia to export its H200 GPUs to select customers in the region, which would have alleviated the situation. However, Beijing refused to allow Chinese companies to buy these AI processors -- instead, it's banking on domestic semiconductor manufacturers to make up for the shortfall, but it's apparently still not enough. One tech executive even told the Financial Times that all domestic suppliers are sold out and that they're even considering less powerful chips, as long as they could be put to use. As Nvidia reportedly cleaned up its verified list of clients and made it harder for non-vetted companies to acquire its chips, the company has also told its partners to fix their export control compliance. "We insist our partners are compliant," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told the media last May after Taiwan started its operations against AI chip smuggling into China. "We hope that they will enhance and improve their regulation compliance and prevent that from happening in the future." Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

Nvidia builds a white list: more than half of its Asian customers are off it

A new white list, tougher vetting in Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan, and more than half of the company's previous regional customers no longer cleared to buy. Nvidia has more than halved the number of customers in Asia cleared to buy its artificial intelligence chips, according to the Financial Times, which cited three people with knowledge of the matter. The company has built a new white list of approved regional buyers and stepped up due diligence in Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan, the three jurisdictions that have featured most often in the past two years of chip-diversion cases. The tightened vetting excluded more than half of Nvidia's previous customers there. Excluded firms can reapply, provided they make changes. Nvidia did not do this out of enthusiasm. The tightening followed pressure from Washington, and it lands after a run of enforcement that has made the company's Asian distribution network look, in retrospect, rather porous. In March, US prosecutors charged a Supermicro co-founder and two employees over an alleged scheme to move roughly $2.5bn of Nvidia chips into China, using a South East Asian company as a proxy to route hardware from Taiwan. On 31 May, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security issued guidance clarifying that an export licence is required for advanced computing chips going to any entity whose ultimate parent is headquartered in China or Macau, wherever that entity happens to sit. That single clarification is what turned a shipping question into a corporate-ownership question, and it is why a Singapore address no longer settles anything. Washington had already moved to close the subsidiary loophole that let Chinese firms buy through overseas arms. Nvidia's white list is the commercial expression of the same idea, outsourced to the vendor: rather than police every shipment, police the customer list. The economics explain why the smuggling persisted. Restricted Nvidia hardware has commanded a heavy scarcity premium inside China, with B300 servers reportedly selling for around $1m, close to double the US list price. A margin like that funds a great deal of creative logistics. Nvidia's public line has been consistent. Jensen Huang has argued that smuggled data centres are a dead end, on the grounds that a grey-market cluster cannot be serviced, updated, or supported, and that national security comes first. The white list is that argument turned into a procedure. The cost is competitive. South East Asia has been one of the fastest-growing markets for AI infrastructure, and Malaysia in particular has spent three years courting data centre investment on the promise of cheap land, cheap power, and few questions. Cutting more than half of the regional buyer base, even temporarily, hands business to anyone able to supply comparable compute without the compliance overhead, which increasingly means Chinese domestic chipmakers. It also puts legitimate customers in an awkward position. A Malaysian or Singaporean operator that has done nothing wrong may now find itself off the list because of a shareholder it cannot easily explain, and the route back is a reapplication process whose criteria Nvidia has not published. Beijing, for its part, has not been playing the part of aggrieved customer. Washington allowed Nvidia to sell the older H200 into China last year; China responded by blocking domestic sales of it, partly to protect its own chip industry. Both governments now appear to be restricting the same trade for opposite reasons. Nvidia has not commented publicly on the white list, and the FT report does not say how many companies remain on it. Nvidia shares fell around 3.5% on Monday amid a broader tech sell-off, though that move tracked the wider chip complex rather than this story specifically. What the vetting does not resolve is the underlying awkwardness of the arrangement. A US-listed company is now maintaining a private register of who in Asia may buy its most valuable product, at the request of a government that would rather not write the list itself.

NVIDIA cuts over half of Asian buyers from AI chip whitelist in China crackdown

NVIDIA has cut its authorized AI chip customers in Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan by more than half in an effort to reduce the number of unauthorized products from being funneled through to China. According to a new report from the Financial Times, the chipmaker has implemented a new "white list" of vetted companies, which have passed stricter compliance checks ensuring NVIDIA's high-end AI accelerators don't end up in places they aren't legally allowed to be. The move signals a major tightening of access to its AI hardware in key Asian markets, which comes on the heels of intense investigations from reporters that unveiled an expansive black market in China for NVIDIA GPUs. NVIDIA's tightening of its grip on the Asian market follows increasing pressure from regulators and policymakers to enforce export controls on AI GPUs for fear the US will be selling what it needs to competitors that will enable it to gain a leg up in the AI race. NVIDIA's new restrictions notably excluded more than half of NVIDIA's previous customers, and companies that failed the initial compliance check are eligible to reapply. According to FT, many of the companies that were affected by NVIDIA's changes are neo-cloud providers, specialized cloud platforms for AI workloads. Previous reports indicated the NVIDIA AI GPU black market smuggling ring is more than a billion-dollar industry, with a report from FT in July 2025 claiming, after an investigation, that more than $1 billion worth of NVIDIA AI GPUs were smuggled into China over a three-month period. While regulations have certainly tightened more since then, one does wonder if the value of that black market has increased or decreased since July 2025. My guess would be a sharp increase with seemingly no end in sight.

Nvidia halves Asia buyer list in China chip crackdown: Report

Over the past few months, ⁠Nvidia has ⁠stepped up due diligence in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan, the report said, citing three people familiar with the matter. Nvidia has more than halved the number of Asian customers authorised to buy its AI chips after introducing a "white list" of companies that passed tougher compliance checks to prevent the products from reaching China, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Over the past few months, ⁠Nvidia has ⁠stepped up due diligence in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan, the report said, citing three people familiar with the matter. More than half of its previous customers, particularly neo-cloud providers, failed the initial review and were removed from the list, though they can reapply after making changes, the report added. Reuters ⁠could not immediately verify the report. Nvidia did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside ⁠regular business hours. The tighter scrutiny comes as the Trump administration seeks to prevent advanced U.S. chips from reaching Chinese entities through third countries. The U.S. Commerce Department issued guidance in May aimed at curbing advanced AI chips from reaching overseas subsidiaries of Chinese companies, highlighting concerns that Nvidia's cutting-edge Blackwell processors may have been exported to Chinese-linked entities in countries such as Malaysia despite U.S. restrictions. Nvidia has tightened compliance procedures following pressure from ⁠Washington, the FT said, adding that staff now visit customers' data centres, verify contracts and interview end users as part of the checks. The US Department of Commerce is also involved, providing oversight and political backing, the report said. The department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.

Nvidia Reportedly Cuts More Than Half of Its Asian AI Chip Customers Amid Tighter China Screening - Aliba

Nvidia Tightens Customer Screening Across Asia Nvidia has reduced by more than half the number of Asian customers authorized to purchase its AI chips after creating a new "white list" of approved buyers, Reuters reported on Monday (via the Financial Times). The report, citing three people familiar with the matter, said the chipmaker has spent the past several months strengthening due diligence efforts in Singapore, Malaysia and Japan. The tighter screening process is intended to ensure customers comply with U.S. export controls aimed at restricting China's access to cutting-edge AI hardware. According to the report, more than half of Nvidia's previous customers -- particularly smaller neo-cloud providers that rent AI computing capacity -- did not make the initial approved list. However, companies that were excluded can update their compliance procedures and reapply for approval. Nvidia did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments. US Export Rules Drive Nvidia's Compliance Push The reported changes come as Washington continues to tighten restrictions on advanced AI chip exports to China and entities linked to the country. In May, the U.S. Commerce Department issued new guidance warning companies against allowing advanced AI chips to reach overseas subsidiaries of Chinese firms. Officials also raised concerns that Nvidia's latest Blackwell AI processors could be diverted to Chinese-linked organizations through third countries, including Malaysia, despite existing export restrictions. Price Action: Nvidia shares closed Monday down 3.52% at $203.53 and slipped another 0.14% to $203.25 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro. According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Nvidia scores in the 98th percentile for Growth, underscoring its strong medium- and long-term price trend despite recent weakness in its short-term price trend. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

U.S. Officials Reportedly Confirm First NVIDIA H200 AI GPU Shipments To China Two Months After Trump-Xi Meeting

NVIDIA's H200 AI GPUs are finally shipping to China, as reported by U.S. officials, marking the return of the banned chip. China Softens Its Position on NVIDIA GPUs As First H200 Shipments Now Headed To Chinese AI Firms The NVIDIA Hopper story in China has been a roller coaster ride so far. When Hopper was launched, US export restrictions for the Chinese market were in full swing. These pushed NVIDIA to release an export-compliant variant called the H20 for China, which ended up being severely cut down, but still a viable option against what China's domestic chipmakers had to offer. Despite seeing a surge in demand, China went on a crackdown on H20, to focus on domestic offerings. The move further prompted NVIDIA to halt production of H20 for China. Hopper GPUs did continue to see sales in China, but only through black market and smuggling channels. This continues to be the case to this very day. With the ongoing Blackwell bans, the US Government decided it would open up sales of the now two-generation-old Hopper GPUs to China, somewhat softening its stance on AI export sales to China. Blackwell is still locked out for sales in China, but during the Trump-Xi meeting back in May, where Jensen Huang was also part of the tech CEOs' lineup accompanying President Donald J Trump, we saw that H200s were being opened up to top Chinese AI firms. A total of 10 firms would be part of these upcoming deliveries, which would allow them to purchase up to 75,000 H200 chips. These firms included the likes of Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, JD, DeepSeek & others. The most recent claim is that these firms will be allowed to buy 200,000 H200 GPUs. H200 Back In China, Where NVIDIA Officially Maintains a 0% Market Share In AI Now, according to Walter Bloomberg, a Senior U.S. official has confirmed that the first NVIDIA H200 AI GPU shipments have commenced and are on their way to China. These chips will be landing at the Chinese and Hong Kong ports. Although the exact number of deliveries isn't reported, it is stated that the amount remains "very few" versus the actual demand. Even these "very few" shipments would be able to improve NVIDIA's current position in China from a 0% "official" market share, as stated by CEO Jensen. The NVIDIA H200 AI GPUs were first released in 2023, and since then, NVIDIA has launched its Blackwell and Blackwell Ultra GPUs. The AI giant will be releasing its brand-new Vera Rubin platform featuring Rubin GPUs this year, with volume production already underway. NVIDIA is going to be shipping Vera CPUs to Chinese firms since there are no restrictions on CPUs (yet), but the race to Agentic AI is rapidly shifting the market landscape from GPUs to CPUs. Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.

China plans to let top AI firms buy limited Nvidia H200 chips, the Information reports

China plans to permit its leading artificial intelligence companies to acquire Nvidia's H200 chips. Officials have informed Alibaba, ByteDance, and DeepSeek about potential upcoming permissions. Nvidia has already secured licenses from the United States government for these sales. The chip giant's shares saw a slight increase following this news report. Companies and the Commerce Department have not yet provided immediate comments. China is planning to allow the country's top AI companies to buy a limited number of Nvidia's H200 chips, the Information reported on Wednesday, citing two people with direct ⁠knowledge of ⁠the matter. Chinese officials have told Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek in recent weeks that they may soon receive permission to buy some H200 chips, the report said. Shares of Nvidia rose 1% after ⁠the report. The chip giant did not immediately respond to a Reuters request ⁠for comment. The U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees exports of advanced AI chips overseas, did not immediately return a request for comment, while Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek did not respond outside of regular business hours. Nvidia has already received licenses from the U.S. government to sell its advanced H200 chips to ⁠China. Reuters reported in March that the company had won Beijing's approval to sell the chips to China, citing sources. In March, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also told CNBC that the company had clearance from China.

NVIDIA Teams With US Government to Slam Shut the Backdoor Feeding Banned AI Chips Into China

NVIDIA Corporation is taking strict action to ensure that its AI GPUs only land in the hands of the right customers, reports the Financial Times. The action is to ensure that its chips do not reach China, and it follows increasing scrutiny by Taiwanese authorities on firms allegedly involved in shipping the chips to the Asian country. Previous reports have suggested that the Chinese government is interested in granting exemptions to some local firms to buy NVIDIA chips, even as firms such as Huawei claim to be able to achieve parity with Western technology in the future. NVIDIA Is Working With US Government To Ensure Sanctioned Chips Do Not Reach China, Says Report Today's report comes after Taiwanese authorities raided the offices of Super Micro and other companies late last month as part of investigations surrounding the shipment of GPUs to China. While US sanctions explicitly restrict the sales of the advanced GPUs to China, the chips can make their way into the country through countries such as Taiwan. Super Micro insisted, following the raid, that it was working with authorities to ensure that its products are legally distributed. US prosecutors also initiated legal action in March against Super Micro in March to target so-called 'pass-through' entities, which were involved in repackaging Super Micro's products and sending them to China through Taiwan. Now, a fresh report from the Financial Times suggests that the actions by the US government have created a shortage of NVIDIA chips in China. The publication quotes industry insiders to add that large sales of NVIDIA's H200 GPUs to China are also unlikely. Now, the Financial Times reports that NVIDIA has expanded its efforts to screen customers to prevent the shipment of the advanced AI chips to China. While the firm's previous efforts included screening the customers, now the firm has increased the number of visits to the customer facilities and interviews to determine whether they are genuine businesses. The targeted countries include Singapore, Malaysia and Japan, and the efforts have cut the number of NVIDIA's Asian customers into half. As part of the efforts, the firm is working with the Commerce Department, say the sources. While NVIDIA expands its compliance checks, other reports have suggested that China might allow some companies to import the firm's chips. A report which surfaced earlier this month claimed that China could allow 200,000 NVIDIA chips inside its shores and added that the figure was half of what the companies had asked for. While NVIDIA has designed the H200 GPU to meet Chinese specifications, Beijing has prevented local companies from buying the watered-down chips. The efforts are part of China's efforts to promote domestic technology development and reduce reliance on Western technology products. Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.

China Weighs Reversing Its Own NVIDIA Ban, May Let Alibaba, ByteDance & Others Buy 200,000 H200 Chips

After US-China geopolitical tensions led to the Chinese government banning local firms from buying NVIDIA's China-specific H200 GPUs, a report from The Information claims that the Chinese government is considering allowing local companies to buy the NVIDIA chips in restricted amounts. US chip restrictions have constrained China's ability to manufacture leading-edge chips, and additional restrictions on NVIDIA's products have sapped Beijing's ability to procure the necessary hardware to run the latest AI technologies. Chinese Firms Alibaba, ByteDance & DeepSeek Might Be Allowed To Buy NVIDIA Chips, Says Report Today's report follows an earlier one from Reuters, which had outlined that the Chinese government was considering restrictions on the country's advanced artificial intelligence models. Sources quoted by the publication added that Anthropic's Mythos and its cybersecurity capability had left Beijing worried, and its latest deliberations came after blocking social media giant Meta Platforms from acquiring a domestic firm. NVIDIA, following US sanctions on its products, had developed a China-specific chip called the H200, which complied with all US export control laws. However, in response to the US export controls, the Chinese government had limited domestic companies from buying the chips. Now, as per The Information, the government might be interested in allowing some companies to buy limited numbers of the AI GPUs. Today's report comes after NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang confirmed to CNBC that his firm had secured China's approval to sell its chips to local companies. In an interview in May, Huang outlined that his firm had not included any guidance from China sales in its financial estimates and in March, Huang had outlined to reporters at the GTC that his firm was gearing up to provide chips to Chinese companies. According to The Information, the Chinese government is still deliberating the number of NVIDIA chips that will be allowed to be sold to the local firms. The magic number might be 200,000, believes the publication, which would be less than half of what the companies have requested. Some of the companies that could secure the Chinese approval include ByteDance, DeepSeek and Alibaba, as per The Information's sources. While the chips under question belong to NVIDIA's Hopper generation, the firm's latest products are two generations ahead. NVIDIA plans to start shipments of its Rubin chips this Fall and of the next-generation Rubin Ultra GPUs in 2027. However, reports have suggested that some Rubin Ultra chips could be delayed to 2028 due to production constraints. Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.

Nvidia H200 chip shipments to China remain limited, official says By Investing.com

Investing.com -- A senior U.S. government official told lawmakers Tuesday that Nvidia Corp has shipped minimal quantities of its H200 chips to China and Hong Kong. Jeffrey Kessler, under secretary of commerce for industry and security, informed a U.S. House committee that shipments of the H200 chip have started but remain at "very few" units. In May, the Commerce Department authorized approximately 10 Chinese companies to purchase Nvidia's H200, the company's second-most powerful artificial intelligence chip. At that time, no deliveries had occurred. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Nvidia said to have cut off half its Asian customers to curb fraud

According to the FT, citing three people familiar with the matter, Nvidia has stepped up scrutiny in recent months to prevent its AI processors from reaching China via third countries. The new process goes as far as data center visits, contract checks and interviews with end users, with the involvement of the US Department of Commerce. Companies that fail the checks can, however, come back into compliance and reapply. The clampdown comes under pressure from Washington, which is seeking to plug gaps in export controls and dismantle the black market for chips. In March, US prosecutors charged a co-founder of Super Micro Computer and several employees, accused of helping to smuggle $2.5bn of chips to China via a front entity in Southeast Asia, the FT also reported. The tightening is worsening the shortage of AI chips in China, where demand is surging with the rise of AI agents. Without access to the most advanced manufacturing equipment, domestic output remains insufficient: "All domestic suppliers are out of stock. Even the low-end chips that nobody wanted are gone," a Chinese industry executive told the FT.

China to let AI firms buy Nvidia H200 chips, the Information reports

Shares of Nvidia rose in Wednesday morning trading after a report said China is planning to allow its top AI firms to buy a limited number of Nvidia's second most powerful AI chip, the H200. A report from The Information on Wednesday said Chinese officials have told Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek in recent weeks that they may soon receive permission to buy some of those chips. The U.S. government has allowed Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 chips to China, and licensed about 10 Chinese firms to buy the chips. But Chinese officials had withheld approval, looking to nurture their domestic suppliers. :: Nvidia :: Archive Reuters reported in March that Nvidia had won Beijing's long-awaited approval to sell the chips to China. :: Nvidia The potential shift in China's stance underscores the growing computing capacity crunch that the country's tech companies are facing. Nvidia on Wednesday did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees exports of advanced AI chips.