China Pauses H200 GPU Imports—A Strategic Gamble for AI’s Future?

China’s AI industry is stuck in a high-stakes balancing act: Can it embrace foreign GPUs like Nvidia’s H200 while still fueling its homegrown semiconductor ambitions?

The Chinese government has instructed tech companies to temporarily pause orders for Nvidia H200 GPUs while establishing policies for foreign chip imports.

This move follows a U.S. policy imposing a 25% export fee for H200 GPUs to China after President Trump approved their sale. Despite the freeze, server manufacturers have reportedly placed non-refundable, non-modifiable orders for 82,000 H200 GPUs, with deliveries expected by mid-2026.

Chinese semiconductors currently lag behind Nvidia’s H200 and Blackwell GPUs in performance, creating a dilemma for policymakers between AI advancement and local chip development.

Proposed solutions include mandating foreign chip importers to purchase matching volumes of domestic semiconductors for inferencing tasks. However, claims that domestic chips now match H200/RTX Pro 6000D performance remain unproven.