After days of back and forth and lots of unofficial information swirling, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has finally issued an "official" update on the H200 saga in China. Speaking to the press during a visit to Taiwan on Thursday, he confirmed that Beijing hasn't yet decided whether or not to allow imports of the chip into the country, Bloombergreports. Understandably, the company has also not received any orders while China's stance on the matter remains unclear.
"I’m hoping that the Chinese government would allow Nvidia to sell the H200," Huang reportedly said. "It’s up to the Chinese government now but they are still deciding, and we are waiting patiently.”
Bloomberg says that Huang confirmed meetings with both customers and government officials had taken place during a recent trip to China, but that the CEO confirmed "no new orders for the H200 chips were placed." As the report notes, Chinese officials had reportedly told firms like Alibaba that they could prepare to order the chips, hinting at an imminent decision to allow at least some imports.
However, it has also been reported in previous days and weeks that Beijing has limited H200 purchases and told its customers officers to block H200 imports. The picture is anything but clear, and Huang's statement of clarification, while not a definitive resolution, is the first real official update we've had on the matter in some time.
H200 imports to China would be something of a boon to Nvidia. While the company isn't exactly strapped for cash, its market share in the country is predicted to fall drastically from 66% to just 8%. With China prioritizing homegrown silicon, and Nvidia precluded from shipping its most advanced chips to the nation, it seems unlikely that those fortunes will turn around. But H200 imports to China would give the company revenue, and more importantly, keep itself relevant with CUDA while China explores other options.
Stephen is Tom's Hardware's News Editor with almost a decade of industry experience covering technology, having worked at TechRadar, iMore, and even Apple over the years. He has covered the world of consumer tech from nearly every angle, including supply chain rumors, patents, and litigation, and more. When he's not at work, he loves reading about history and playing video games.
So... This is one way this can go down: China could force nVidia to sell the H200 for way cheaper, perhaps getting close to cost, so nVidia still gets a profit out of it and then the % the USA gets from each sell is meager at best. This would introduce an endless feedback loop, because we know how the current Admin will answer, so it'll either force nVidia or back to the "I'll tariff you MOAR!".
I can see other possiblities, but I won't go there, since some didn't like the radical hot takes involving a Chinese Gulag, LOL.
The US cut doesn't change based on export price. It's not an export tariff as export tariffs are not legal in the US.
It's applied as a 25% import tariff when the cards are first imported to US before they are sold to China.
