BUSINESS

Nvidia Restarts Production of H200 Chips for China, Jensen Huang Says

Published: Mar. 18, 2026 7:33 p.m. GMT+8

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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks during a Q&A session at the company's annual GTC developer conference in the U.S. on Tuesday. Photo: VCG

Nvidia Corp. has obtained a U.S. license to sell its advanced H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips to Chinese customers and has restarted production to meet demand, CEO Jensen Huang said.

Orders are advancing and the supply chain is recovering, Huang told Caixin and other media outlets on Tuesday during Nvidia's GTC conference in San Jose, California.

The breakthrough ends a roughly 10-month freeze on Nvidia’s advanced chip supplies to the world’s second-largest economy.

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Nvidia received a U.S. license to sell its advanced H200 AI chips in China, resuming supply after a 10-month halt and outpacing domestic rivals in software ecosystem and model training.
Chinese AI chipmakers like Cambricon saw rapid revenue growth, but their chips mostly match Nvidia's H20, not the new H200; major internet cloud vendors still prefer Nvidia.
Nvidia forecasts $1 trillion in AI data center revenue by 2027, driven by Blackwell and Vera Rubin platforms.

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Who’s Who

Nvidia Corp.: Nvidia Corp. has secured a U.S. license to sell its advanced H200 AI chips in China, ending a 10-month freeze. CEO Jensen Huang announced production restart due to demand. The H200, an upgrade to the H100, boasts memory advancements crucial for AI models. This comes after the Trump administration's export controls affected Nvidia's H20 chips, leading to domestic competition in China.

Cambricon Technologies Corp. Ltd.: Cambricon Technologies Corp. Ltd. (688256.SH) is a Shanghai-listed Chinese AI chipmaker. In 2025, it reported a 453% year-on-year revenue surge to 6.5 billion yuan ($944 million) and achieved its first annual net profit excluding non-recurring items of 1.8 billion yuan. This growth occurred as domestic alternatives filled a void left by Nvidia's advanced chip supplies in China.

Moore Threads Technology Co. Ltd.: Moore Threads Technology Co. Ltd. is a Chinese AI chipmaker that recently listed in Shanghai. Along with other domestic companies like Cambricon and MetaX, Moore Threads is filling the void left by restrictions on Nvidia's advanced chip sales in China. These local alternatives are gaining traction, especially with government-led computing centers.

MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.: MetaX Integrated Circuits (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (688802.SH) is a Chinese AI chipmaker that has accelerated its capital market plans, listing in Shanghai. This company is a local alternative to Nvidia's chips, filling a void after export controls limited Nvidia's advanced chip supplies to China.

Shanghai Biren Technology Co. Ltd.: Shanghai Biren Technology Co. Ltd. is mentioned as one of the domestic AI chipmakers in China. It is noted that the company listed in Hong Kong, alongside Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor Co. Ltd. This indicates their accelerating capital market plans within the industry.

Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor Co. Ltd.: Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor Co. Ltd. (天数智芯) is an artificial intelligence (AI) chipmaker based in Shanghai. It was mentioned in the context of other domestic AI chipmakers accelerating their capital market plans, with Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor Co. Ltd. specifically listing in Hong Kong.

Huawei Technologies Co.Ltd.: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is mentioned as a domestic alternative to Nvidia's AI chips in China, specifically their Ascend chips. Shifting to Huawei's hardware requires developers to readapt their large models, as most are currently built on Nvidia's architecture.

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What Happened When

November 2023：: Nvidia released the H100 advanced AI chip.

April 2025：: The Trump administration mandated that Nvidia obtain government licenses to export the H20 chip to the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macau.

June 2025：: The U.S. and China engaged in bilateral trade negotiations, after which the U.S. eased its export stance.

By August 2025：: Washington allowed Nvidia to hand over 15% of its H20 sales revenue in China in exchange for export licenses.

2025：: Cambricon Technologies Corp. Ltd. reported a 453% year-on-year revenue surge to 6.5 billion yuan and achieved its first annual net profit (excluding non-recurring items) of 1.8 billion yuan.

First quarter of 2026：: Nvidia tailored and released the H20 processor for the Chinese market to comply with export controls.

March 16, 2026：: Jensen Huang made the forecast that Nvidia's AI data center revenue would hit $1 trillion through 2027.

March 17, 2026：: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced at the GTC conference that Nvidia obtained a U.S. license to sell H200 AI chips to Chinese customers, restarted production, and clarified his revenue forecast.

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