WASHINGTON – US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has confirmed that Nvidia’s powerful H200 artificial intelligence chips have not yet been sold to Chinese companies, citing difficulties these firms face in obtaining approval from the Chinese government .
During a Senate hearing on April 22, Lutnick explained the situation when asked about H200 sales to China. “The Chinese central government has not let them, as of yet, buy the chips, because they’re trying to keep their investment focused on their own domestic industry,” he said . He added that the United States has not sold these chips to China so far.
The Trump administration formally approved conditional exports of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China in January 2026, a decision that sparked deep concerns among China hawks in Washington who fear Beijing could harness the technology to enhance its military capabilities . However, according to sources familiar with the matter, shipments have been stalled by disagreements over sales terms both in China and the US .
The H200 is Nvidia’s second-most powerful AI chip, primarily used for large model training and inference. It is considered to lead Chinese mainstream AI chips by one to two generational gaps .
The continued delay in chip sales is likely to be welcomed by US hardliners who reject the administration’s argument that such sales discourage Chinese competitors like Huawei from accelerating their efforts to catch up with American AI chip designers .
Nvidia has not immediately responded to requests for comment on the matter
