The Nvidia H200 China deal survived the Trump-Xi summit–just not in the way anyone expected

President Trump flew to Beijing, brought Jensen Huang along at the last minute, and left two days later, telling reporters that “something could happen” on chip exports. Not a single Nvidia H200 has shipped to China since Trump first authorised the sales in December 2025, and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Bloomberg that semiconductor controls were not even on the bilateral agenda. The summit theatre obscured a more interesting development underneath it.

The H200 isn’t stuck because Washington won’t allow it. Roughly 10 Chinese firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com, hold approved US export licences for up to 75,000 units each, with Lenovo and Foxconn authorised as distributors. The chips aren’t moving because Beijing won’t let its own companies take delivery. The mechanics of the stalemate are worth understanding clearly. US rules require that all H200 chips ordered by Chinese clients be used only in China. Beijing, meanwhile, has instructed Chinese tech companies to limit their use of Nvidia chips to overseas operations while supporting domestic manufacturing. The two requirements are mutually exclusive. Chips cleared for export cannot legally be deployed where Beijing wants to deploy them, and Beijing won’t authorise the domestic use the US licences require, according to Implicator . Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated at a Senate hearing last month that Chinese firms are trying to keep their investment focused on domestic suppliers, including Huawei. Beijing’s State Council has also ordered a supply-chain security review aimed at cutting dependence on US semiconductors. The policy contradiction is not accidental. The days around the summit produced several data points that matter more for the long term than Trump’s parting comment.

Key points

• The H200 isn’t stuck because Washington won’t allow it.
• Roughly 10 Chinese firms, including Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and JD.com, hold approved US export licences for up to 75,000 units each, with Lenovo and Foxconn authorised as distributors.
• The chips aren’t moving because Beijing won’t let its own companies take delivery.
• The mechanics of the stalemate are worth understanding clearly.
• US rules require that all H200 chips ordered by Chinese clients be used only in China.