U.S. licenses ZTE to buy Nvidia H200 AI chips, but Chinese restrictions may limit impact

The ongoing Sino-American chip war continues to evolve, with both sides imposing import and export controls and granting approvals on a case-by-case basis. According to a Reuters report, Chinese telecom giant ZTE and server firm Maginfra have received U.S. approval to purchase Nvidia's last-generation H200 "Hopper" chips.

Key Approvals

• ZTE joins a group of roughly 10 Chinese companies with U.S. clearance for such purchases, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com.
• An apparent subsidiary of Kingsoft Cloud also received approval to buy AMD accelerators equivalent to Nvidia's H200, likely Instinct MI300X-class chips.

Chinese Regulatory Landscape

Reuters notes that it remains unclear whether Chinese authorities will grant ZTE import approval. China has adopted a protectionist stance to bolster its domestic chip industry, discouraging firms from purchasing foreign technology and pushing them toward homegrown accelerators. Huawei, in particular, has made significant technological and financial progress.

Despite these domestic initiatives, Chinese demand for AI silicon remains immense. Six months ago, Reuters reported that Chinese tech firms had over two million H200 chips on order — far exceeding Nvidia's available supply at the time.

About ZTE

While less familiar in the U.S., ZTE is one of China's largest telecommunications conglomerates. It sells carrier network equipment installed worldwide, along with client-facing devices such as phones and IoT gear. Like many major tech firms, ZTE has entered the cloud computing and AI space, requiring accelerators to realize those ambitions.

Current Trade Status

• The U.S. allows Chinese firms to purchase AI chips up to and including the Hopper family (excluding Blackwell chips), subject to a 25% export tariff, with final decisions made case-by-case.
• China's authorities grant approvals on an opaque, case-by-case basis with no clear rules. However, some firms have reportedly obtained Blackwell chips through creative (and potentially illicit) means.

Outlook

Whether this approval will lead to significant volumes of H200 chips entering ZTE's data centers remains uncertain. CNBC cites a U.S. trade official who stated during a congressional hearing that "very few shipments against licenses for H200s and equivalents have taken place. It's a very small quantity of chips." If H200 shipments become material to Nvidia's financial performance, it will likely be noted in future earnings reports or public comments.

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