Nvidia has informed Chinese customers that it aims to start shipping its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China before the Lunar New Year in mid-February 2026, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Initial deliveries are expected to be drawn from existing inventory, with shipments estimated at 5,000 to 10,000 modules — equivalent to around 40,000 to 80,000 H200 chips — Reuters reported.
The company has also signalled plans to expand production capacity, with new orders likely to open in the second quarter of 2026.
However, the timeline remains uncertain as Chinese authorities have yet to approve the purchases of the advanced chips. If completed, the shipments would mark Nvidia’s first deliveries of H200 chips to China since US President Donald Trump announced this month that Washington would allow such sales, subject to a 25% fee.
The move represents a notable shift from the previous US ban on exporting advanced AI chips to China over national security concerns. The H200, part of Nvidia’s Hopper generation, continues to be widely used in AI workloads despite being surpassed by the newer Blackwell chips.
Chinese technology giants including Alibaba and ByteDance have reportedly shown strong interest, as the H200 offers significantly higher performance than Nvidia’s downgraded H20 chip designed specifically for the Chinese market.
