By Khac Phu Nguyen
Publication Date: 2025-12-22 14:18:00
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has told Chinese clients it is aiming to begin shipping its second-most powerful AI chips to China before the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February, according to people familiar with the discussions. The company plans to fulfill early demand from existing inventory, with initial shipments potentially totaling between 5,000 and 10,000 chip modules, equivalent to roughly 40,000 to 80,000 H200 AI chips. Nvidia has also indicated that it intends to add new production capacity for these chips, with orders for that capacity expected to open in the second quarter of 2026, suggesting a longer-term effort to support demand if approvals are granted.
The proposed shipments remain contingent on regulatory decisions, as Beijing has not yet approved any H200 purchases and timelines could still shift. The discussions follow a policy change after US President Donald Trump said Washington would allow H200 sales to China with a 25% fee, prompting an inter-agency review of export license applications. This approach represents a shift from the previous US stance that barred advanced AI chip sales to China on national security grounds. Reuters has reported that Chinese officials have held emergency meetings to assess whether to permit the imports, including proposals that could require each H200 purchase to be paired with a set ratio of domestic chips.
The H200, part of…
