China gives nod to ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent to buy Nvidia's H200 chips

China has approved three major tech companies—ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent—to purchase over 400,000 Nvidia H200 AI chips. This shift aims to balance China's AI needs with domestic growth.

However, the government is imposing conditions on these approvals, which are still under discussion. Approval for purchases comes as Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang visits China. Chinese firms had previously been encouraged to buy chips only as necessary.

Despite U.S. clearance for Nvidia to sell to China, the final import decision rests with Beijing, which aims to nurture its semiconductor industry while meeting strong demand for advanced chips.