Nvidia's years-long push to sell its powerful AI chips to China has finally paid off in a major way. The US chipmaker said last week that hundreds of thousands of its H200 chips had been approved for sale to Chinese companies, including tech giants ByteDance and Alibaba.
The move marks a significant shift in US policy on the export of sensitive technology to China, where concerns over national security have long dominated discussions. But after years of tensions between Washington and Beijing, it appears that the Trump administration's "strategic patience" approach has finally borne fruit.
Under President Trump, White House officials have been secretly working with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to find a way to allow some Chinese companies to buy US-made chips without compromising national security concerns. The idea was to strike a balance between keeping China dependent on US technology and preventing the country from developing its own powerful AI systems.
The new policy has sparked a mixed reaction in Washington, where some experts say it may ultimately prove counterproductive. By allowing domestic companies to buy H200 chips, Beijing is now able to achieve two strategic goals at once: getting access to top-notch compute power for training advanced AI models, while keeping the demand for Huawei chips high and encouraging China's domestic semiconductor industry to continue growing.
"This David Sacks idea of keeping China hooked on American technology is just not how this is going to go," says Samuel Bresnick, a research fellow at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology. "I see this as proof that China is totally uncomfortable with the idea of letting its own burgeoning chip industry be swamped by Nvidia."
The real damage may stem from the whiplash in Washington, where policymakers have sent mixed signals about what the US wants to accomplish with chip controls. By allowing some Chinese companies to buy H200 chips, the US may inadvertently embolden Beijing's efforts to develop its own AI capabilities.
As one official noted last week, "The worst possible thing we can do is just go back and forth." The situation is now a matter of waiting and seeing how this new policy plays out, with implications for global chip markets and national security that are still far from clear.
The move marks a significant shift in US policy on the export of sensitive technology to China, where concerns over national security have long dominated discussions. But after years of tensions between Washington and Beijing, it appears that the Trump administration's "strategic patience" approach has finally borne fruit.
Under President Trump, White House officials have been secretly working with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to find a way to allow some Chinese companies to buy US-made chips without compromising national security concerns. The idea was to strike a balance between keeping China dependent on US technology and preventing the country from developing its own powerful AI systems.
The new policy has sparked a mixed reaction in Washington, where some experts say it may ultimately prove counterproductive. By allowing domestic companies to buy H200 chips, Beijing is now able to achieve two strategic goals at once: getting access to top-notch compute power for training advanced AI models, while keeping the demand for Huawei chips high and encouraging China's domestic semiconductor industry to continue growing.
"This David Sacks idea of keeping China hooked on American technology is just not how this is going to go," says Samuel Bresnick, a research fellow at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology. "I see this as proof that China is totally uncomfortable with the idea of letting its own burgeoning chip industry be swamped by Nvidia."
The real damage may stem from the whiplash in Washington, where policymakers have sent mixed signals about what the US wants to accomplish with chip controls. By allowing some Chinese companies to buy H200 chips, the US may inadvertently embolden Beijing's efforts to develop its own AI capabilities.
As one official noted last week, "The worst possible thing we can do is just go back and forth." The situation is now a matter of waiting and seeing how this new policy plays out, with implications for global chip markets and national security that are still far from clear.
I mean, I'm not surprised really. Back in my day 
we were just starting to get into AI and now it's like everyone and their grandma has a chip 
. Nvidia's been playing both sides for ages, but I guess this is just the ultimate pay-off 
. Those US officials have been talking out of both sides of their mouths for years, trying to balance keeping China in line with not wanting them to get too self-sufficient 
. It's like they're playing a game of chess without knowing how many pieces are on the board 
.
. On the other hand, you've got the US potentially giving away their secrets and emboldening Beijing's efforts to develop its own chip industry 
. It's like they're playing a game of "let's see who can make the most noise" instead of actually trying to achieve something 
.
Either way, it's gonna be a wild ride 
. So they finally relaxed the rules, huh? It's like, one minute we're all worried about China taking over the world with AI power, next thing you know they've got access to super powerful chips from US companies 
Meanwhile, Beijing's just gonna keep on buying and training those AI models like there's no tomorrow 
.
. It feels like a big mess right now. In school, we learn about supply and demand, but this is like trying to balance it out in a global game 
. What do you guys think?
anyway back to this nvidia thing... like the dude at georgetown said that china is literally trying to keep them dependent on american tech so they can't develop their own... but idk i think its kinda cool that usa is being all chill about it now 
maybe its a good thing for global chip markets? 
. We're basically giving them the keys to the kingdom when it comes to AI development, and that can be super bad news for national security 
.
. I'm also concerned about the mixed signals we're sending out - one day it's "let them buy our chips", next day it's "no way Jose" 
.
. We can't keep playing both sides like this and expect everything to work out 
. I hope we're careful about how this policy plays out - the implications are huge 
, who's gonna hit the ball next? 
. Not sure if this is good or bad 
!
. I mean, think about it - if they've got powerful chips like the H200, they can train those advanced AI models way faster and more efficiently than us 
. But at the same time, I get why the Trump admin wanted to try this approach - it's all about finding that balance between keeping China dependent on US tech and preventing them from getting too powerful 
.
.
It feels like the whole thing is just a cat-and-mouse game to me. Can't we just focus on building our own AI capabilities instead of relying on Chinese companies to do it for us? 
. It's like, if Beijing is getting top-notch compute power for its AI models, why are we still worried about national security? 
. It's like, where's the strategy? Where's the planning? 
.
. it's all about the whiplash now, with policies changing left and right... just hoping it doesn't lead to a chip war 
Nvidia selling their chips to china is like a big ol' neon sign saying "hey china we wanna help you get good at ai but not too good" 
now chinese tech giants like byte dance and alibaba can use them lol what's next?? is the us just gonna let china have all our secrets?