China Pivots Again: How to Play Nvidia Stock Amid the Current H200 Drama?

It certainly doesn’t bode well for the global order when two of the world’s largest economies are displaying such blatant disregard for consistency in their respective policies. Whether it is on the geopolitical front or in the tech sector, it appears that the USA and China are competing to outperform each other in terms of policy shifts. And when it comes to tech, Nvidia (NVDA) is the centerpiece now. The Santa Clara, CA-based company is not merely a chipmaker now, as it has emerged as a key component of diplomacy for the two economic powerhouses.

Why? Well, its chips are the most powerful in the world, and they remain the most vital aspect of the AI buildout throughout the world. China knows this, and thus, they are looking to build their own chip industry to reduce dependence on a U.S. company like Nvidia. Although they have met with some success, overall, the chips made in the world’s second-largest economy are still substantially behind the ones developed by Nvidia, even the earlier generations.

To Restrict or Not to Restrict

The United States, under the AI Diffusion Rule established earlier last year, had imposed export restrictions on Nvidia’s H200 chips to stifle Chinese access to advanced American technology. Then, in mid-2025, Nvidia reported no sales of AI chips to China, a country that once accounted for almost $20 billion in annual revenues for the company.

In fact, in October 2025,…