China authorizes ByteDance and Tencent to import NVIDIA H200 chips

China has reportedly authorized ByteDance and Tencent to import 10,000 NVIDIA H200 chips each in recent weeks. This move aims to assist local companies in training advanced artificial intelligence models to better compete with American counterparts.

While the United States previously restricted the sale of H200 processors to China due to military technology concerns, certain approvals were granted to specific Chinese companies. ByteDance and Tencent are authorized to purchase up to 100,000 chips each, though Chinese authorities reportedly prefer that companies keep most of these units outside the mainland to support the domestic chip industry.