US says small amount of Nvidia H200 chips sold to China via licence

A small number of Nvidia Corp H200 artificial intelligence chips have been shipped to customers in China after receiving U.S. approval, a Trump administration official confirmed Tuesday. Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler said during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing that a "trivial" number of the processors were shipped, though he declined to specify the quantity or identify the buyers. Kessler said very few shipments against licenses for H200s and equivalents have taken place. President Donald Trump cleared the H200 for export to China in December, easing restrictions aimed at limiting Beijing's AI ambitions. The Commerce Department formalized the decision in January with a rule limiting sales to verified Chinese buyers and imposing a 25% U.S. levy on shipments. Applicants must meet rigorous national security requirements, Kessler said. Chinese authorities have slowed local companies' purchases of the chips, partly over concerns that American-designed AI chips would hinder development of an indigenous chip industry. Republican Committee Chairman Brian Mast urged Kessler's Bureau of Industry and Security to take further steps to prevent China from obtaining Nvidia's more powerful Blackwell chips. Kessler agreed the bureau must be "very careful" regarding exports to Chinese tech giants but stopped short of saying whether formal action is being weighed.