ALTHOUGH the United States has approved limited exports of Nvidia’s H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, industry experts cautioned Tuesday that demand in the country may fall short of expectations due to lingering cybersecurity concerns.

The warnings came after U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration will allow Nvidia to ship its H200 products to approved Chinese customers. Nvidia welcomed the decision in an official statement, despite a revenue-sharing arrangement that allocates 25% of sales proceeds to the U.S. government.

Though one generation behind Nvidia’s latest Blackwell architecture, the H200 chips remain among the most advanced AI accelerators available, primarily deployed as data center accelerators.

Tu Xinquan, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, viewed the export approval as a positive development in Sino-U.S. trade relations. “However, actual purchases by Chinese companies will depend on specific circumstances. AI is a highly sensitive field, and certain security risks persist,” Tu noted.

The professor’s comments follow the Cyberspace Administration of China’s summons to Nvidia in late July over alleged security vulnerabilities in its H20 AI chips sold domestically.

Tu emphasized that such security concerns are not unfounded, adding, “Adoption will likely vary by institution — some enterprises may proceed with purchases while others will remain cautious.”

He Hui, semiconductor research director at U.K.-based technology research firm Omdia, highlighted China’s pivotal role in the global AI landscape. “Currently, only the U.S. and China are genuine competitors at the AI frontier. Without the Chinese market, Nvidia’s AI growth narrative remains incomplete,” she told China Daily.

She observed that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has repeatedly acknowledged the rapid progress of Chinese competitors — a signal she interprets as urging the U.S. government to recognize that stringent chip restrictions could further accelerate China’s independent innovation.

(SD-Agencies)