China regains access to Nvidia chips after US lifts restrictions

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Nvidia to resume business with China

NVIDIA COMPUTEX KEYNOTE
(Image credit: Future)
  • Nvidia could soon resume selling H20 chips in China
  • CEO Jensen Huang has liaised with China and the US
  • The company lost billions in sales as a result of export bans

Nvidia is planning to resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China after the US government confirmed it would grant the tech giant export licenses.

The move comes after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's visit to China and his discussions with US President Donald Trump, all in a bid to reach an agreement and resume sales.

As a result, it's believed that Chinese companies like ByteDance and Tencent are now lining up to place orders on H20 chips after a brief pause to exports.

Nvidia could resume Chinese exports soon

Nvidia had already custom-designed the H20 chip for China after US export restrictions, but it was banned in April 2025, leading to an estimated cost of $10-15 billion in lost sales and a further $5.5 billion in inventory write-offs. The costs were so significant that Nvidia declared these losses in its quarterly earnings report.

The potential approval of licenses by the US government could reverse charges, bringing in an additional $15-20 billion in revenue this year.

However, Trump isn't necessarily expressing a preference for Nvidia. AMD is also expecting review of its export licenses for MI308 chips after reporting a smaller but still noteworthy $1.5 billion impact from export curbs.

Although domestic competition has heated up in China, many firms still prefer Nvidia for its CUDA ecosystem. Huang also acknowledged the importance of China to Nvidia's strategy, calling the market "massive, dynamic, and highly innovative" (via Reuters).

The potential easing of restrictions comes at an important time – China also eased rare earth export restrictions, suggesting the two global superpowers could be slowly reaching an agreement.

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Craig Hale
Craig Hale

With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!

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