About 600,000 Nvidia H200 chips sit in Hong Kong as Beijing delays import approval
Reuters reported on November 5, citing two people familiar with the matter, that about 600,000 Nvidia H200 chips are stored in Hong Kong because Beijing has not cleared large-scale imports into mainland China. The Next Web, whose report this brief draws on, adds that Chinese technology firms still want the processors to train and run large models, even though the H200 is no longer Nvidia's newest design. The standoff is unusual: Washington allows limited sales, but the chips cannot enter the mainland at scale.
Some volume is getting through. According to Reuters' sources, several large Chinese internet companies have each received about 10,000 H200s in recent months, and smaller amounts have moved through intermediaries and indirect routes. Beijing wants firms such as Alibaba, ByteDance, Tencent and DeepSeek to rely on Chinese-made chips instead, and Reuters reports that total foreign chip approvals could end up below 200,000.
Prices show the squeeze. By the end of October, an eight-H200 server was offered on China's unofficial market for more than 6 million yuan, roughly triple its price a year earlier. The Next Web also reports that Nvidia took a $400 million charge tied to unsold H200 stock and purchase commitments, and that Beijing has kept it from selling all the chips it is licensed to ship.
Why it matters
For teams planning compute, access to top accelerators in China now depends on two approvals: Washington's export licenses and Beijing's import clearance. A license on one side does not guarantee delivery on the other. Operators who depend on cross-border capacity should price in import delays, assume domestic chip substitution for some workloads, and treat the Hong Kong stockpile as a leading indicator of near-term supply.
For founders and investors, Nvidia's China revenue now hinges on the pace of Beijing's approvals, and hardware parked in Hong Kong produces no revenue until it ships. Chinese labs face higher prices and indirect sourcing, which raises cost and compliance questions for any company that buys or resells accelerators through intermediaries. Domestic chipmakers may benefit from the delay, so vendors selling into China should plan for a shifting customer base.
Key points
- 1About 600,000 Nvidia H200 chips are held in Hong Kong awaiting approval for mainland import.
- 2Beijing has not approved large-scale H200 imports into mainland China, according to Reuters' two sources.
- 3Several large Chinese internet companies have each received about 10,000 H200s in recent months.
- 4Reuters reports total foreign chip approvals in China could end up below 200,000 units.
- 5
