Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang has arrived in China at a pivotal moment as Beijing weighs whether to allow sales of the U.S. chipmaker’s powerful H200 artificial intelligence processor.
Huang’s China Visit Comes Amid Heightened Scrutiny
Huang is in Shanghai to kick off Nvidia’s annual celebrations with its China-based employees, reported Reuters on Saturday.
The visit is described as routine, but it comes amid intensifying competition from domestic Chinese chipmakers and closer scrutiny from regulators.
Huang is expected to attend a company event in Shanghai before traveling to Beijing, Shenzhen and Taiwan, the report noted.
The Nvidia CEO has made China a regular stop, visiting at least three times last year and meeting China’s commerce minister in July.
H200 AI Chip At Center Of US-China Tensions
Nvidia is awaiting a decision from Beijing on whether it will be allowed to sell its H200 AI chip to Chinese customers, the report said.
Chinese authorities have informed customs officials that the H200 is not permitted to enter the country, the publication reported earlier this month.
However, on Friday, it was reported that regulators have given preliminary clearance to major Chinese technology firms — including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA), Tencent Holdings Ltd. (OTC:TCEHY) and ByteDance — to move forward with the next phase of purchase planning.
The approval allows the companies to begin outlining detailed needs, including the precise number of chips required to support their operations.
Previously, Huang said any approval from the Chinese government to import the company’s H200 AI chips would be reflected in customer purchase orders, rather than announced publicly.
Strategic Stakes For Nvidia And China
The H200, Nvidia’s second-most powerful AI chip, has become a major flashpoint in U.S.-China technology relations.
While Chinese demand for Nvidia’s AI processors remains strong, Beijing has reportedly been weighing restrictions to support domestic chipmakers or using the issue as leverage in broader negotiations with Washington.
Alibaba and ByteDance had earlier indicated behind the scenes that they were considering orders of more than 200,000 H200 chips apiece to strengthen their AI models and better compete with U.S. players such as OpenAI.
Nvidia stock scores high on Quality in Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings, with a positive price trend in the short, medium and long terms.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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