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China Urges Firms to Avoid Nvidia H20 Chips in Government-Linked Work
Official Notices Discourage H20 Use
Chinese authorities have issued guidance to a range of domestic firms advising against the use of Nvidia’s H20 chips, especially for government or national security-related projects. This includes both state-owned and private enterprises.
Nvidia Denies Security Concerns
Nvidia stated the H20 is “not a military product or for government infrastructure” and rejected allegations of security risks or “backdoors.” The company emphasized that China has sufficient domestic chip supply for government operations.
Regulators Question Tech Giants
Reports indicate the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has pressed major firms such as Alibaba and ByteDance to justify orders for H20 chips over local alternatives. Some companies are reportedly cutting orders in response.
Domestic Chip Push Boosts SMIC
The guidance aligns with Beijing’s efforts to promote homegrown technologies, including AI chips from Huawei. Shares of top Chinese chipmaker SMIC rose 5% amid expectations of increased local demand.
US–China Chip Tensions
The H20 restriction follows comments from U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting he may permit sales of a scaled-down Blackwell chip to China. Washington recently struck a deal with Nvidia and AMD to take 15% of revenue from certain advanced chip sales to China.
Impact on AMD
China’s notices reportedly also cover AI accelerators from AMD, though it remains unclear if the MI308 chip was specifically named.
“China Urges Firms to Avoid Nvidia H20 Chips in Government-Linked Work”