US Clears Nvidia H200 Buyers With Links to Blacklisted Chinese Companies

Empty offices put approved chip buyers under scrutiny

The US Commerce Department has approved approximately 24 Chinese companies to buy or handle Nvidia H200 artificial intelligence processors, including firms whose ownership or business connections lead to companies under American national security restrictions. Two approved businesses, New Matrix and Maginfra, had apparently vacant registered offices, according to an investigation published on November 7, 2026.

New Matrix, established about 17 months earlier, listed an address in an industrial park outside Beijing. Its office was empty, its name was absent from the building directory, and a receptionist and manager at the nearby property management agency said they had no record of it. Corporate records connected its owners to Wise Road, a Chinese private equity firm placed on the Commerce Department's trade blacklist in 2024.

The findings focus attention on the checks behind Washington's decision to reopen a controlled route for advanced chip exports to China. The government's January 2026 rules require Chinese purchasers to screen their customers and adopt procedures for complying with export restrictions. Those safeguards depend on knowing which businesses will receive the hardware and how it will be used.

H200 processors provide computing power for demanding AI work, including training the models behind chatbots. The same computing capability has made advanced chips a national security concern for Washington, which seeks to prevent restricted technology from reaching China's military.

Liza Tobin, who served as China director on the White House National Security Council during the first Trump and Biden administrations, questioned the checks conducted by both the government and Nvidia.

"I have a ton of concerns that neither the Commerce Department nor Nvidia is doing the due diligence needed to ensure that the licensing terms are being followed," she said.

What Washington's licensing rules require

The Bureau of Industry and Security, known as BIS, announced its revised licensing policy on January 13, 2026. The rule allows applications involving Nvidia's H200, AMD's MI325X and similar processors to be reviewed individually, provided specified security requirements are met.

BIS said applicants must demonstrate that exports to China will not reduce global semiconductor production capacity currently available to American customers. Chinese purchasers must have export compliance procedures, including customer screening. The chips must also undergo independent testing in the United States to verify their performance and security.

Customer screening means checking who is buying a product and whether restrictions apply to that buyer or its intended use. For companies assembling chips into larger AI systems, those checks can extend beyond the first purchaser to customers further along the supply chain.

Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler presented the policy as a way to support American technology while retaining controls.

Export controls should evolve with changes in technology, while protecting national security. Permitting the sale of the H200 to China under controlled conditions will strengthen the American technology ecosystem.

The policy followed President Donald Trump's December 8, 2025, announcement allowing sales to approved Chinese customers. It took effect upon publication in the Federal Register. Applicants must also confirm that the processors will not be used for Chinese military purposes or ultimately reach China's military.

Why New Matrix and Maginfra draw attention

New Matrix's ownership links lead to Wise Road, which the United States blacklisted in 2024 over allegations that it helped Beijing acquire strategically sensitive semiconductor companies. Its sparse public presence and empty registered office make the identity of the business handling the chips a central concern.

Maginfra, another relatively new approved company, also had an apparently deserted registered office. Corporate records showed shared personnel and patents with Inspur, a Chinese server maker placed on the US Entity List over its involvement with China's military. Both companies also had government ownership.

The Entity List is a Commerce Department tool that places licensing restrictions on business involving listed organizations and controlled American technology. Examining ownership, employees and business relationships helps regulators assess where products may go after an initial sale.

Neither the Commerce Department nor Nvidia has publicly explained how the specific connections involving New Matrix and Maginfra were assessed during licensing. The practical issue is whether the approved firms can account for the hardware throughout its journey from purchase to installation and use.

Other corporate links widen the scrutiny

Zhejiang Yindun Cloud Technology, another approved company, had connections to Range Intelligent Computing Technology Group, a major Chinese cloud computing provider that has supplied services to military contractors.

Range provides cloud services for a satellite program operated by the defense bureau of Hebei province. The company has described that program as supporting China's national defense development. Cloud services let customers use computing resources operated by another company rather than own all the equipment themselves.

Shanghai Jiatang, also identified among approved firms, originated from state owned Datang Telecom, which supplies technology to the Chinese military. Datang is controlled by the China Academy of Telecommunications Technology, an enterprise involved in developing military cryptography, the technology used to protect communications and information.

The approved group also includes prominent commercial businesses. Baidu, BYD and Tesla Shanghai were identified among recipients of authorization, alongside Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance and ZTE Kangxun Telecom. Some firms were permitted to purchase tens of thousands of H200 processors each, although purchases had not reached those limits.

Large internet companies, businesses assembling systems and smaller intermediaries perform different roles. Regulators therefore need to assess both the immediate purchaser and the organizations that may eventually operate or access the resulting computing systems.

How the export opening developed

Washington's H200 policy emerged after years of restrictions introduced during the Biden administration. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang campaigned for broader access to the Chinese market, while the Trump administration sought a framework that combined sales with security conditions and government revenue.

The main developments span several dates:

• 2024: The Commerce Department placed Wise Road on its trade blacklist.
• December 8, 2025: Trump announced that approved Chinese customers could purchase H200 processors and similar products.
• December 2025: A bipartisan group of senators proposed blocking further easing of advanced AI chip export restrictions for two and a half years.
• January 13, 2026: BIS announced its revised licensing policy and testing requirements.
• July 14, 2026: Kessler told a House hearing that very small quantities of approved processors had reached China.
• November 7, 2026: Findings about vacant offices and corporate connections brought renewed scrutiny to approved buyers.
• November 18, 2026: Republican chairs of three House committees requested a briefing with Huang about a separate intelligence concern.

The 25% charge and the American testing route

Chips manufactured in Taiwan must pass through the United States before reaching China under the arrangement described for H200 sales. That route allows independent American testing and a 25% tariff on their value.

An earlier account described Nvidia agreeing to give the US government 15% of relevant China sales as part of the administration's relaxation of restrictions. The later H200 arrangement specifies a 25% tariff tied to the chips' passage through the United States.

The testing requirement addresses the processors themselves. At the July 14 House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Kessler said applicants had to satisfy strict national security requirements, including verification that actual chip performance matched the expected level rather than exceeding it.

Buyer screening addresses another part of the transaction: who receives the tested hardware and what happens to it afterward. A processor can meet the required technical specifications while still requiring careful checks on the customer, its business partners and its intended use.

Approvals have produced limited deliveries

Kessler told lawmakers on July 14 that only a very small quantity of Nvidia processors had been shipped to China under the licenses. He declined to identify the buyers or give a shipment total.

Nvidia subsequently said H200 shipments to customers based in China represented less than 1% of its data center revenue in the quarter ending in July. In August, the company said its revenue forecast for the current quarter assumed no data center sales to China.

Beijing's own import controls help explain the limited flow. Chinese regulators have tightened approvals partly to support domestic semiconductor producers. American permission to export and Chinese permission to import are separate decisions, leaving buyers dependent on both governments.

The scale of the bottleneck was described in the November 6 account of a Hong Kong chip stockpile: about 600,000 H200 processors were waiting there, while some major Chinese internet companies had reportedly received roughly 10,000 chips each. The waiting inventory was about 60 times an individual allocation of that size.

For Chinese AI developers, a license therefore offers a possible route to equipment rather than an immediate supply of computing power. Chips must still clear import decisions, reach a facility and be installed before customers can use them.

Nvidia and Commerce defend their controls

BIS said it carefully reviews license applications for national security risks. The agency pointed to $324 million in penalties for export violations in 2025 and the hiring of more than 90 enforcement officers in 2026 as evidence of its enforcement activity.

Nvidia defended its business in China and argued that China's military had little reason to rely on American processors. Company spokesman John Rizzo described the company's priorities and its assessment of military demand.

It makes no sense for the Chinese military to depend on American technology," Rizzo said. Nvidia sells "the first, best and most of our technology in America.

The company also said Beijing's restrictions on H200 imports were intended to promote Chinese chip producers, while Nvidia's limited exports supported American jobs and manufacturing.

Lawmakers continue to press for tighter boundaries. At the July hearing, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Brian Mast urged Commerce to prevent China from obtaining Nvidia's more powerful Blackwell chips. He also asked whether ChangXin Memory Technologies, Yangtze Memory Technologies, Tencent and Alibaba should face further restrictions. Kessler said Commerce had to exercise great caution when permitting exports to such companies.

A separate intelligence concern reaches Congress

Republican chairs of three House committees requested a November 18 briefing with Huang concerning his connections to a woman whom US intelligence agencies reportedly assessed to be a Chinese intelligence asset.

The woman worked for Megaspeed, which operated data centers in Southeast Asia serving Chinese clients and was under investigation for suspected chip smuggling. Nvidia said its dealings with Chinese entities were routine business and involved no exchange of sensitive information.

Access through overseas data centers has become another concern for American officials. Chinese AI companies can obtain computing services outside mainland China, making the location of a chip only one part of assessing who ultimately uses its capabilities.

The requested briefing adds congressional pressure as the administration defends its licensing system. The proposed Senate restriction on further easing, the House scrutiny of newer processors and the questions about approved H200 buyers all center on how much access Washington should allow and how that access can be monitored.

Key Points

• Approximately 24 Chinese companies received approval to buy or handle Nvidia H200 processors, including firms linked to restricted businesses or military suppliers.
• New Matrix and Maginfra had apparently vacant registered offices. Corporate records connected their owners or operations to Wise Road and Inspur.
• BIS rules require customer screening, protection of production capacity available to US buyers and independent chip testing in the United States.
• The H200 arrangement includes a 25% tariff, while Chinese import restrictions continue to limit deliveries.
• BIS cited $324 million in export penalties in 2025 and more than 90 enforcement hires in 2026 in defending its oversight.
• House committee chairs requested a November 18 briefing with Jensen Huang over a separate alleged intelligence connection. Nvidia said no sensitive information was exchanged.