A prominent Chinese university specializing in defense technology has acquired NVIDIA's high-performance AI semiconductor H200, despite being on a U.S. blacklist.
Northwestern Polytechnical University, located in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, reported in government procurement records released on October 21 that it purchased two H200 chips for 874,700 yuan (approximately $180,000). The purchase was made by the university's business school, with the supplier identified as Shaanxi Boxuan Internet Technology Company. Details on how Boxuan obtained the H200 chips remain unclear.
Northwestern Polytechnical University is known for its research in military technology, including fighter jets, missiles, drones, and aircraft engines. It is also involved in key research areas such as hypersonic vehicle propulsion technology and underwater unmanned systems. The university is believed to be contributing to the development of China's next-generation stealth fighter, the J-36.
The U.S. Department of Commerce placed Northwestern Polytechnical University on its entity list in 2001 due to its involvement in missile proliferation activities and military research. In 2019, the U.S. tightened sanctions, effectively denying export licenses for technologies subject to U.S. export controls to the university.
It remains uncertain whether the acquisition of the H200 by Northwestern Polytechnical University violates U.S. regulations. The Trump administration allowed some exports of the H200 to China under individual review as of January this year. Additionally, China has recently approved limited imports of the H200 for major IT companies. Therefore, it is not unusual for Chinese entities to possess and distribute the H200. However, U.S. export control regulations may apply to resale and regional transfers to sanctioned entities. The legality of the H200's supply chain, including the initial procurement route and whether any separate approvals were obtained for the transfer to Northwestern Polytechnical University, needs to be clarified.
Separately, there is speculation that this transaction may be linked to the Jensen Huang scandal. Recently, U.S. media outlet The Information reported allegations regarding Jensen Huang's relationship with Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, stating that approximately 240,000 advanced GPUs, including H100, H200, and A100, valued at a minimum of $7.5 billion, were delivered to Chinese companies. While the acquisition of the H200 by Northwestern Polytechnical University could be a straightforward case of semiconductor distribution within China, it also raises concerns about potential circumvention of U.S. export controls.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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