According to a report by China Daily on February 26
US semiconductor giant Nvidia Corp has received approval from Washington to ship a limited number of its H200 graphics chips to customers in China, marking a cautious reopening of the market for its less advanced products.
During a post-earnings call, Nvidia’s CFO Colette Kress noted that while small shipments are now authorized, the company will not include any China-based data-center revenue in its first-quarter outlook due to ongoing regulatory uncertainty.
Nvidia’s revenue in China fell to $19.7 billion for the fiscal year ending January 25, down 21% from the previous year, reflecting intensifying competition from domestic chipmakers. These Chinese GPU firms have recently accelerated their IPOs, positioning themselves as alternatives to foreign suppliers amid US export restrictions.
Shanghai-based Enflame Technology recently gained approval to list on the STAR Market, joining other local players — Moore Threads, MetaX, and Biren Technology — in a wave of GPU IPOs. Meanwhile, Iluvatar CoreX became the second Chinese GPU company to go public in Hong Kong after Biren.
Industry analysts say this surge in domestic listings is part of a broader strategy for China to boost self-reliance in high-performance computing. Dong Peng, senior economist with the China Enterprise Confederation, described the trend as “a collective breakthrough for domestic computing power during a strategic window of opportunity.” He noted that the dual drivers of national AI policy and market demand are fueling this expansion.
According to Zhou Di, senior engineer at China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese AI computing market is likely to evolve into a “dual-track” landscape. High-end AI workloads, dominated by hyperscale internet companies and top research institutes, will continue to rely on Nvidia’s technical advantages. At the same time, domestic GPUs — leveraging cost-performance ratios, policy support, and tailored services — are set to capture vertical sectors such as government, finance, industrial applications, and healthcare.
This development highlights both the continuing influence of Nvidia in China’s high-end AI sector and the rapid rise of homegrown alternatives capable of serving a broader range of cost-sensitive applications.
China’s growing domestic GPU ecosystem, combined with policy and market support, is creating a more competitive global landscape for AI chips, with implications for international technology supply chains.