Daniel Mercer
The Financial Times reports that China is relaxing its restrictions to assist local firms in training advanced AI models.
According to the Financial Times, ByteDance and Tencent each received 10,000 NVIDIA H200 chips in recent weeks. This significant shipment marks a pivotal moment for these companies, as China has permitted these processors to enter the mainland to bolster local businesses. The advanced capabilities of NVIDIA’s chips are essential for training leading-edge AI models, enabling these firms to enhance their competitive edge against American companies. The Times reports that other Chinese enterprises may soon receive similar shipments of H200 chips.
The U.S. government had previously prohibited the sale of H200 chips to China due to concerns over their potential military applications. It was not until December 2025 that NVIDIA was permitted to sell these processors to selected Chinese customers, by which time the H200 model was already two years old. Reuters highlighted that in January, China agreed to import several hundred thousand H200 chips. In a report from May, Reuters noted that the U.S. granted ten Chinese companies, including ByteDance and Tencent, permission to purchase H200 processors.
It appears that the long-awaited shipments of processors have now begun to reach these authorized companies. Both ByteDance and Tencent are allowed to acquire up to 100,000 chips each. China reportedly expects these firms to keep the majority of their orders outside the mainland to nurture the growth of its domestic chip industry. Currently, China’s chip sector is thriving, with local businesses focusing on developing their own AI chips to reduce dependence on foreign technology, especially in light of U.S. export restrictions. According to the Times, Chinese authorities have instructed these companies to direct their processor orders to Hong Kong, despite the absence of existing data centers in that region.
Ethan Carter
