NVDA Stock Gains Pre-Market: China Reportedly Clears H200 Chip Orders For Big Tech With Conditions

According to a Reuters report, the Chinese government approved applications from tech companies to collectively acquire more than 400,000 of Nvidia’s H200 AI processors.

• The move signals a shift in how China balances access to foreign chips with domestic semiconductor ambitions.
• The report indicated that regulators are still finalizing requirements tied to the licenses.
• The regulatory sign-off coincided with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to China.

Beijing has reportedly authorized several of its largest technology firms to move forward with purchases of advanced artificial intelligence hardware from Nvidia Corp. (NVDA). The move signals a shift in how China balances access to foreign chips with domestic semiconductor ambitions.

Conditional Green Light

According to a Reuters report, the Chinese government approved applications from ByteDance, Alibaba Group (BABA), and Tencent (TCEHY) to collectively acquire more than 400,000 of Nvidia’s H200 AI processors.

However, the approvals come with strings attached. The report indicated that regulators are still finalizing requirements tied to the licenses. Following the update, Nvidia's stock traded over 1% higher in Wednesday’s premarket. 

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock remained in ‘neutral’ territory amid ‘normal’ message volume levels. 

Timing Matters

The regulatory sign-off coincided with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to China, where he met employees as part of long-planned engagements. 

Earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Huang said Chinese buyers are showing strong interest in Nvidia’s H200 chips and that the company has begun manufacturing them again.

In December, President Trump announced that shipments of the H200 chip could proceed, provided a 25% sales charge is paid. The H200 is considered the second-most powerful Nvidia chip approved for export and remains the highest-level graphics processor permitted under current U.S. regulations.

Chinese companies have submitted orders for over 2 million H200 chips expected to be delivered in 2026, which is much higher than the about 700,000 units Nvidia currently has available.

NVDA stock has gained over 46% in the last 12 months. 

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