Nvidia to resume China chip sales amid shifting US export policy
Nvidia has confirmed it is filing applications to restart sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China, following months of shifting US export rules.
The move, confirmed through a blog post on Nvidia's website, comes after the Trump administration reversed restrictions imposed earlier this year, opening the door for resumed trade.
The company expects to secure US government licences soon and begin deliveries shortly after.
It has also announced a new chip, the “RTX Pro,” designed specifically for the Chinese market and said to comply fully with current export regulations. Nvidia describes the chip as optimised for digital manufacturing, including logistics and smart factory systems.
Though not its most advanced processor, the H20 is the most powerful chip Nvidia can legally sell to China under existing rules. Built for inference tasks (the operation of trained AI models) the chip is favoured for its superior memory bandwidth and seamless integration with Nvidia’s established software ecosystem.
The company's stock also skyrocketed, surging to a new record after the announcement was made.
BREAKING: Nvidia stock, $NVDA, surges to a record $170/share in overnight trading after announcing H20 chip sales to China will resume.
Nvidia also announces a fully compliant GPU for China.
This company just keeps on evolving. pic.twitter.com/PGla8qif4zChinese technology firms including ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent had stockpiled the H20 in early 2025 amid fears of impending restrictions, according to GuruFocus. The chip’s popularity, coupled with its performance, meant Nvidia stood to lose as much as $16 billion in revenue when the initial ban was enforced in April.
The reversal came weeks after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang attended a $1 million-per-seat fundraising dinner at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
According to NPR, the White House softened its stance following Huang’s commitment to invest heavily in US-based infrastructure. Nvidia subsequently announced a plan to build domestic AI data centres worth up to $500 billion over four years, in partnership with TSMC.
Critics in Washington have questioned the consistency of US policy, warning that easing restrictions could erode efforts to limit China’s AI capabilities.
Concerns have grown following breakthroughs by Chinese startups like DeepSeek, which trained an advanced AI model earlier this year using Nvidia’s H800 chips — a product banned since 2023 but still reportedly reaching China through alternative channels.
In the blog post, Nvidia spokesperson Hector Marinez said Huang had been engaging with officials in both Washington and Beijing to highlight the benefits of AI for industry and society.
The episode illustrates the competing pressures facing US policymakers as they navigate national security concerns and economic interests. With geopolitical tensions continuing to shape the tech landscape, further shifts in policy appear likely.