Nvidia Photo: VCG

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in Beijing on Tuesday that his company is planning to resume sales of its H20 artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, China Central Television (CCTV) reported. 

"I am announcing that the US government has approved for us filing licenses to start shipping H20s. We will start to sell H20s to the Chinese market, and I am looking forward to shipping H20s very soon. So, I'm very happy with that," Huang told a group of reporters, according to a video posted by CCTV News.

Huang also revealed that Nvidia is launching a new graphics card called RTX Pro, which is designed for computer graphics, digital twins, and AI, the CCTV News video showed. 

"The Chinese market is massive, dynamic, and highly innovative, and it's also home to many AI researchers," Huang said, according to CCTV. "Therefore, it is indeed crucial for American companies to establish roots in the Chinese market."

The company also confirmed the news in a press release dated July 14. Nvidia is set to resume H20 sales to China, and it announced a new, fully compliant AI chip for China. "The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon," it said in the press release on its website. 

Asked to comment on Huang's announcements, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press conference on Tuesday that "we generally do not make specific comments on the behavior of companies."

But Lin pointed out that China's position of opposing the politicization, instrumentalization and weaponization of science and technology and economic and trade issues, and the malicious blockade and suppression of China is consistent and clear. Such practices disrupt the stability of the global industrial chain and are not in the interests of any party, the spokesperson said.

Huang is in Beijing for his third trip to China this year and is scheduled to attend the third China International Supply Chain Expo, which kicks off on Wednesday. Also on Tuesday, Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), met with Huang in Beijing and the two sides exchanged views on topics such as promoting China-US cooperation in the AI industry, strengthening industrial and supply chain collaboration, and supporting the development of foreign-invested enterprises in China, according to the CCPIT.

Nvidia's moves underscored the company's eagerness in maintaining its market share in China amid US government restrictions and rising competition, according to Ma Jihua, a tech industry analyst.  

"Nvidia does not want to be kept outside the Chinese market, which is vitally important for its revenues and development," Ma told the Global Times on Tuesday, noting that the company made efforts to convince the US administration to lift the ban. "There is also a sense of urgency for Nvidia as Chinese chipmakers are catching up fast," Ma said.

The H20, which had been Nvidia's most powerful AI chip cleared for Chinese sales, was introduced after Washington tightened export controls in October 2023. Previously, Nvidia argued that a ban on H20 would mean its competitors in China would be largely shielded from US competition and free to leverage that entire $50 billion market to build a strong AI ecosystem.