Cramer says Nvidia should be allowed to sell AI chips in China as H200 approvals remain unresolved
The Facts
- Jim Cramer said Nvidia should be allowed to sell artificial intelligence chips in China.
- Cramer argued that restricting Nvidia's sales could push Chinese companies to develop more homegrown chip alternatives.
- The U.S. has cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia's H200 AI chips.
- No H200 deliveries to those approved Chinese buyers had taken place at the time of the reports.
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joined President Donald Trump's trip to Beijing as Nvidia sought progress on chip sales in China.
- The issue matters because Nvidia's access to China is being shaped by U.S.-China technology tensions and export controls, even where U.S. approvals have been granted.
- A key unresolved issue is whether approvals will translate into actual shipments, as trade talks in Beijing did not produce a major breakthrough on chip exports.
Context
What did Cramer say about Nvidia selling chips in China?
Cramer said Nvidia should be allowed to sell AI chips in China and argued that keeping Chinese firms dependent on U.S. technology would be better than forcing them to build competing products CNBC.
What is the current status of Nvidia's H200 sales to China?
Reports said the U.S. cleared roughly 10 Chinese companies to buy Nvidia's H200 chips, but no deliveries had been made at the time of publication CNBC,Reuters.
Why is this still unresolved if U.S. approvals were granted?
The broader dispute over semiconductor export controls remains unsettled. Reuters reported shipments had not begun despite U.S. clearance, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said chip export controls were not a major topic in the Beijing talks, suggesting no near-term breakthrough Reuters,Yahoo News.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Approvals alone have not resolved Nvidia’s China business: despite U.S. clearance for some Chinese buyers and high-level lobbying, no H200 shipments had occurred, showing that export controls and broader U.S.-China tensions still govern what happens in practice.
- Where Left and Right split
- Less a disagreement than a question of emphasis: the strategic risk that restricting Nvidia could speed China’s homegrown chip development, versus the immediate credibility gap between formal U.S. approvals and the absence of actual deliveries.
How left and right read it
What stands out is how export controls and broader U.S.-China technology tensions are determining who can actually access advanced AI chips, even after approvals have been granted. Cramer’s warning that restricting Nvidia’s sales could accelerate homegrown alternatives in China underscores the long-horizon stakes, while the lack of H200 deliveries shows how unresolved the policy remains in practice.
The central issue is whether government approvals mean anything if they do not lead to actual shipments. The U.S. cleared about 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia’s H200 chips, yet no deliveries had occurred, and even Jensen Huang joining President Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing did not produce a major breakthrough on chip exports.
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