BUSINESS

Nvidia Will Soon Be Allowed to Resume Sales of AI Chips to China, CEO Says

Published: Jul. 17, 2025 7:32 p.m. GMT+8

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Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of Nvidia, speaks to members of the media in Beijing on July 16. Photo: Bloomberg

The U.S. government will soon allow Nvidia Corp. to resume shipping its H20 artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, CEO Jensen Huang said.

“The U.S. government is processing the licenses and I’m expecting them … very shortly,” Huang told reporters on Wednesday afternoon in Beijing, adding that the company hasn’t received any new orders yet.

That morning, Huang was invited to speak at the China International Supply China Expo, where he praised China’s open-source AI models, including DeepSeek and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Qwen, the development of which drives sales of Nvidia’s AI chips.

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The U.S. government is expected to soon approve Nvidia's license to resume shipping H20 AI chips to China, after an export halt caused by stricter controls.
Nvidia faced a $2.5 billion loss in halted H20 chip shipments and a $4.5 billion inventory charge for the recent quarter.
Despite rising competition from Chinese firms like Huawei, Nvidia’s CEO remains confident in the H20 chip's performance for AI applications.

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Who’s Who

Nvidia Corp.: Nvidia Corp. is an AI chip manufacturer. After facing export restrictions from the U.S. government, Nvidia developed less powerful chips, including the H20. CEO Jensen Huang expects the U.S. government to soon grant licenses for shipping H20 chips to China, despite previous financial hits from halted sales.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is a Chinese company whose open-source AI model, Qwen, was praised by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. The development of AI models like Qwen drives the sales of Nvidia's AI chips.

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is a Chinese chip designer that launched CloudMatrix 384, an AI infrastructure. This infrastructure uses Huawei's Ascend 910C neutral processing units and Kunpeng server central processing units, showcasing its advancements following U.S. export controls on Nvidia chips.

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What Happened When

January 2021：: After former U.S. President Joe Biden took office, his administration erected barriers that further blocked China’s access to advanced semiconductors made with U.S. technology.

October 2022：: The U.S. government imposed sweeping restrictions on exports of certain high-end semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to China, leading Nvidia to provide alternative GPUs (A800 and H800) to Chinese customers.

October 2023：: Washington further tightened its policy, limiting sales of alternative GPUs (A800 and H800) to China. Nvidia subsequently offered even more lower-powered GPUs, including the H20.

Early April 2025：: The Trump administration told Nvidia it needed a special license to export H20 chips to China, which halted sales of the H20.

April 2025：: Huawei launched CloudMatrix 384, an AI infrastructure product using Ascend 910C and Kunpeng processors.

By April 27, 2025：: Nvidia took a $4.5 billion charge for the fiscal quarter that ended April 27, 2025, due to excess H20 chip inventory.

Late May 2025：: Nvidia announced it was unable to ship $2.5 billion worth of H20 chips produced, due to licensing requirements.

July 14, 2025：: Nvidia stated it had applied for a license from the U.S. government to export H20 chips to China and expected approval.

July 16, 2025：: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang spoke at the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, commented on China's open-source models, and said he expected U.S. government approval for resuming H20 exports 'very shortly.'

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