Update — Sept. 1, 2026: This article has been rewritten to reflect Nvidia’s fiscal Q2 2027 filing and the start of limited H200 shipments under the U.S. licensing program.
Nvidia has begun making limited H200 shipments to China-based customers. However, the business remains small: the company said shipments under the U.S. H200 licensing program accounted for less than 1% of fiscal second-quarter Data Center revenue.
The disclosure narrows—but does not eliminate—the approval uncertainty that framed this article in July. It confirms that some licensed shipments occurred, but it does not show that China has broadly reopened its market or confirm every customer permission described in earlier reports.
Nvidia Confirms Limited H200 Shipments
The Bureau of Industry and Security moved H200 export-licence applications to case-by-case review in January, subject to U.S. supply, purchaser-compliance and third-party testing requirements. Nvidia said in its fiscal Q2 2027 Form 10-Q that the U.S. government began granting licences in February 2026 for small quantities of H200 products to specific China-based customers. The company added that restrictions imposed by the People’s Republic of China prevented it from selling all the products covered by those licences.
Nvidia had made only a fraction of the allowed shipments by July 26. The company reported $89.0 billion of Data Center revenue for fiscal Q2 2027 and said the H200 shipments represented less than 1% of that total. It also recorded a $400 million first-half charge related to H200 excess inventory and purchase obligations as demand declined.
The licences require the chips to undergo inspection in the United States before shipment to customers. Nvidia said the process subjects H200s to a 25% tariff when they are imported into the United States for inspection; the company has been unable to pass that cost to customers and does not expect to do so. Nvidia’s fiscal Q3 outlook assumes no Data Center compute revenue from China, underscoring the limited near-term visibility despite the initial shipments.
How the China H200 Story Developed Since July
When this article was originally published in July, the extent of Chinese approval for H200 purchases remained uncertain. Reuters reported on July 8, citing The Information, that Chinese officials had told Alibaba, ByteDance and DeepSeek that they might soon receive permission to buy limited quantities. Beijing was still determining the exact number and could approve fewer than 200,000 units in total.
Nvidia shares closed 3.65% higher on July 8, rising from $196.93 to $204.12. Reuters separately reported that the stock rose approximately 1% after The Information report, but the available evidence does not establish that the report caused the entire full-session gain.
The picture became clearer in August. Reuters reported on Aug. 19, citing the Financial Times, that small batches had been allowed into mainland China. The report said ByteDance and Tencent each received about 10,000 H200 processors, while other Chinese technology companies could receive similar shipments. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report, and Nvidia did not immediately comment.
Those initial reported deliveries do not establish the program’s ultimate size and are not directly comparable with the possible total allocation discussed in July. Nvidia’s subsequent filing provides firmer evidence that some licensed shipments occurred, while also showing that restrictions prevented the company from selling all the products covered by its U.S. licences.
What the H200 Update Means for Nvidia Investors
The current evidence does not show that China has broadly reopened its market to Nvidia. It shows that some licensed shipments have occurred, while Chinese restrictions, U.S. inspection requirements, and the tariff continue to limit volume and economics.
Investors should watch whether China authorizes a wider group of purchases, whether Nvidia can sell more of the volume covered by U.S. licences, and when management begins including China Data Center compute revenue in its outlook. ABBO News’ AI chip stack guide explains how GPU restrictions affect the foundry, memory, packaging and networking suppliers around the accelerator, while our Nvidia fiscal Q2 2027 analysis covers the company’s broader revenue outlook and risks.
The H200 program is therefore best viewed as a limited restart, not evidence of a full China comeback.
