🤖 Nvidia is once again heading to China. Cautiously, with reservations and prepayment
According to Reuters, Nvidia plans to start shipping H200 chips to China by mid-February, just in time for the Lunar New Year 🎆
We're talking about 5–10 thousand chips, from existing stocks. New capacities — later, and not before 2026.
📌 But there's a nuance (how could there not be):
— shipments are possible only after Beijing's approval
— the USA has allowed exports, but with a 25% commission
😏 Sanctions, version 2025
Under Biden:
❌ "No advanced chips to China, it's a security threat"
Under Trump:
✅ "Sure, but for a fee. And let's take a commission"
Politics has changed, but business remains as it was 💼
🧠 Why specifically H200?
It's no longer the newest chip (there's Blackwell and soon Rubin),
but:
— H200 is still very powerful
— Chinese analogs are still not up to par
— for Nvidia — a great way to sell the "previous generation" without harming the flagships
🤔This is a compromise convenient for everyone — except for the loud slogans.
— Nvidia monetizes stocks and maintains market presence
— the USA formally "controls the process" and takes a percentage
— China gets working chips, even if they are not the freshest
📌 By allowing imports, the USA slows down the development of China's own solutions