Game-changer? Why China is finally letting its AI firms buy the Nvidia H200

Beijing aims to ‘temporarily ease the training bottleneck’ in China’s AI industry, but it remains focused on tech self-sufficiency, analysts say For months, the United States and China have been locked in an unusual stand-off over cutting-edge chips – the building blocks of the artificial intelligence industry. Now, however, China’s stance is beginning to change, as the government plans to let selected companies – including Alibaba Group Holding – buy limited numbers of the device, a source with knowledge of the matter told the South China Morning Post. Besides Alibaba, the Chinese government has also informed ByteDance – the maker of TikTok – and leading AI start-up DeepSeek of the coming approvals, though companies will have to explain why they need to buy the Nvidia product rather than a locally made alternative, The Information reported on Wednesday. China may allow H200 imports because domestic chips are unlikely to fill the country’s computing-power gap in the near term, said Shi Shenchang, a lawyer focusing on export controls at Shanghai-based Co-Effort Law Firm.

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