Chinese university buys Nvidia AI H200 chips despite US ban, records show

What the report says

A Reuters investigation published by Al Jazeera says a Chinese university with military ties bought Nvidia H200 AI chips last month even though it is on a US export blacklist. The university, Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi’an, was recorded as purchasing two H200 chips for about 874,700 yuan ($123,000) through a domestic supplier, according to procurement records cited in the report.

Northwestern Polytechnical is one of China’s elite defence-linked universities and has long been restricted under US export rules. The Department of Commerce placed it on the Entity List in 2001 and tightened the limits in 2019, meaning licences for controlled US technology are generally denied in most cases. The report says the H200 is among Nvidia’s most capable chips for training advanced AI systems and normally requires export approval that blacklisted entities are unlikely to receive.

The article says the university also obtained access to H200 chips and other Nvidia processors this year through contracts for rented computing capacity from Chinese companies. Reuters reviewed records showing other Chinese universities and research institutions also obtaining restricted Nvidia technology through local suppliers, including some with links to defence research. The findings highlight how advanced US AI hardware can still reach sensitive Chinese institutions despite export controls.

The report also places the purchases in the wider policy debate in Washington over whether tighter chip restrictions are needed. It notes that US officials and lawmakers continue to worry that access to top-end AI chips could support military research, while Nvidia argues broader sales help maintain US technological leadership.