Nvidia Photo: VCG

Nvidia has yet to sell any of its H200 chips to China, despite Washington's earlier move to ease shipment restrictions on the artificial intelligence (AI) processors, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing a senior US export control official - a development analysts say highlights the mounting costs of persistent US policy uncertainty.

In response to a question about how many H200s had been approved for sale to China, David Peters, assistant secretary for export enforcement at the Commerce Department, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday that "my understanding is that so far, none," according to the Bloomberg report.

Analysts noted that the situation exposes the self-defeating nature of Washington's strategy of trying to contain China's tech rise while profiting from its market, warning that persistent policy flip-flops have undermined Nvidia competitiveness in China and the global market.

Although Peters does not directly participate in the licensing process, his comments offer a rare window into the workings of the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees required US approvals for exports of sensitive technology, per the report.

His testimony also came at a sensitive moment for the chipmaker, as Nvidia prepared to release its earnings report on Wednesday, with investors closely watching whether the company has made tangible progress in re-entering the Chinese market.

The US is caught in a strategic dilemma - eager to tap China's vast market for profits while unwilling to ease its tech containment - a contradiction that has injected persistent uncertainty into its China-related technology policies, Li Yong, an executive council member of the China Society for WTO Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The US government moved in December to allow Nvidia to sell H200s to select Chinese customers, but formal rules for this process, published in January by the Bureau of Industry and Security, have imposed conditions that make it harder to earn the green light.

According to regulations cited by Reuters in January, shipments to China require third-party verification of the chips' AI capabilities and are capped at no more than 50 percent of the total volume sold to US customers. Nvidia must also certify adequate domestic supply, while Chinese buyers are required to demonstrate "sufficient security procedures" and ensure the chips are not used for military purposes.

Such restrictions have translated into continued uncertainty in actual market access. The Financial Times reported on February 3, citing people familiar with the discussions, that Nvidia's H200 AI chip sales to China remain in limbo pending a US national security review, with Chinese customers refraining from placing orders until it becomes clear whether they can secure the required licenses and under what conditions.

"For Chinese companies, stability and predictability are essential, but repeated policy reversals and additional unreasonable conditions make it difficult to plan long-term procurement of US chips, ultimately weighing on their sales in the Chinese market," Li said.

Li added that while China's semiconductor sector is still upgrading overall, its development path is more predictable and steadily improving, with chipmakers and downstream users forming an increasingly integrated ecosystem. "Washington's policy swings will, over time, damage the credibility of US suppliers, erode market trust and weaken their competitiveness in China and beyond," he warned.

Meanwhile, the US official signaled a tougher enforcement posture. Peters said on Tuesday that Washington was stepping up efforts to curb the smuggling of advanced AI-related semiconductors, adding that he would be open to extending the statute of limitations and strengthening enforcement penalties, according to Bloomberg.

These developments came as some US officials amplified claims that DeepSeek's latest AI model was trained on Nvidia's most advanced AI chip, the Blackwell, alleging that such use could violate US export controls. Responding to the claims, Chinese Foreign Ministry (FM) spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday that she was not familiar with the specifics mentioned, adding that China has more than once made clear its principled position on US chip export to China.

"China's position on opposing the politicization and weaponization of tech and trade issues, and on malicious blockade and suppression against China, is consistent and clear. Such practices disrupt the stability of global industrial and supply chains and are in no one's interests," FM spokesperson Lin Jian said in August 2025, when asked to comment about reports on US semiconductor export controls and related trade issues.

Earlier this year, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang made a high-profile visit to several Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Taipei, in a trip that analysts said was intended to project a "China-friendly" image and engage Chinese authorities and key clients to promote the H200 chips.

Li said that given considerations of long-term strategic security, ecosystem coordination and sustainable innovation, Chinese companies are increasingly inclined to grow within the domestic semiconductor ecosystem. "If US firms hope to regain ground in China, they must offer greater policy certainty and build more mutually beneficial partnerships aligned with local industry needs," the expert added.