Reuters: 600,000 Nvidia H200 chips reportedly stored in Hong Kong
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About 600,000 Nvidia H200 chips were reportedly being stored in Hong Kong awaiting shipment to mainland China, Reuters reported, as cited by Xataka. Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that large companies may have obtained about 10,000 GPUs each, but the exact volume is uncertain because of the gray market, intermediaries and indirect routes used to bypass trade restrictions.
The U.S. authorized H200 sales to selected Chinese customers, and Reuters reported that about 10 companies gained access to the chips in May, including Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance. However, The Information reported that China limited approvals to fewer than 200,000 units and directed companies to prioritize domestic processors for inference, widening the gap between the estimated Hong Kong stockpile and officially authorized purchases.
Why it matters · editorial interpretation
The gap between the estimated stockpile and officially authorized purchases could complicate enforcement of U.S. trade restrictions, especially as Reuters cites intermediaries and indirect routes. The reports also point to a tension between access to Nvidia GPUs and China’s direction to prioritize domestic processors for inference.
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HardwareRegulation