China’s unease over the Trump administration’s decision to allow Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 artificial intelligence chips to Chinese companies under new export rules has deepened as diplomatic, economic and security considerations converge.

President Donald Trump’s policy reversal — which permits H200 exports under conditions including a U.S. government share of revenue and national security safeguards — was framed in Washington as a pragmatic balance between protecting U.S. technological leadership and engaging China’s vast tech market.

Yet within Beijing and the Chinese tech sector, the gesture is widely interpreted through a more strategic lens, with Chinese authorities and industry observers warning that such a move could be a sophisticated ‘Trojan horse’ designed to expand U.S. influence within China’s AI ecosystem even as China pushes for semiconductor self-sufficiency.

Recent reporting indicates that Chinese customs officials have instructed agents to effectively bar H200 imports and domestic tech companies have been urged to hold off orders pending regulatory clarity, suggesting Beijing is wary of external influence as it weighs conditions for any H200 approval amid national security and industrial policy priorities.

The H200 chips are Nvidia’s second-most powerful processors, offering far greater performance than the previously restricted H20 products and far outpacing many Chinese alternatives.

Trump’s export rules aim to limit use to vetted commercial customers, ensure adequate U.S. supply and prohibit military applications, while imposing requirements such as third-party performance testing and revenue-sharing to safeguard American interests.

Supporters of the policy argue it could encourage Chinese reliance on U.S. technology — slowing Beijing’s indigenous development efforts and ensuring a degree of interdependence that protects long-term U.S. competitiveness in artificial intelligence.

Nonetheless, many Chinese analysts view the move as a calculated attempt to embed U.S. hardware within key Chinese research and commercial AI activities, potentially exposing Chinese firms to external controls and shaping their technological trajectories in ways that benefit American industry and leverage Washington’s negotiating power in broader trade and technology talks.

Beijing’s caution also reflects broader strategic anxieties about national security, economic autonomy and geopolitical competition.

By conditioning or even temporarily halting H200 imports, Chinese authorities appear intent on gaining concessions and protecting domestic innovation while preventing what they perceive as over-reliance on foreign tech.

The unfolding situation thus underscores the high-stakes interplay between U.S. efforts to maintain leadership in AI and China’s pursuit of technological independence and strategic leverage, with both sides manoeuvring not only over chip exports but broader geopolitical and economic goals in the era of advanced semiconductors.