Chinese military-linked university bought Nvidia H200 chips despite US blacklist

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Exclusive-Military-linked Chinese university bought Nvidia H200 chips despite US blacklist, records show finance.yahoo.com

Northwestern Polytechnical University, a Chinese institution with deep ties to the People's Liberation Army, bought two of Nvidia's H200 chips in October despite sitting on a US export blacklist, according to a procurement record posted on the university's own website. The chips, among Nvidia's most capable for training and running advanced AI systems, cost 874,700 yuan — about $123,000 — and were bought for the university's management school.

The purchase did not go through Nvidia. The supplier of record was Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology, an intermediary whose contact details Reuters could not determine. The H200 requires US export licence approval that is normally denied to blacklisted institutions, and Northwestern Polytechnical belongs to the 'Seven Sons of National Defense,' sanctioned Chinese universities with a history of defence-related research for Beijing. The university also bought access to H200s and other powerful Nvidia processors this year through five contracts for rented computing capacity from Chinese companies — computing power that arrives without any chip crossing a border.

In Washington, the scrutiny has settled on a person rather than a pipeline. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang faces mounting criticism over his lobbying for looser China sales, following reports alleging he was targeted by a Chinese spying operation; three Republican congressional committee chairmen have requested a briefing with him on November 18 over his reported contacts with an alleged Chinese intelligence operative. Huang argues that continued US sales to China would preserve American technological leadership and keep Chinese customers reliant on US technology. Lawmakers from both parties counter that access to Nvidia's most powerful chips can speed China's AI development for weapons design, intelligence analysis and military modernisation, and have urged stronger controls including chip-tracking requirements and greater congressional oversight of exports.

The university, Nvidia and the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security — the agency that oversees export controls — did not respond to requests for comment. The procurement record is dated October 21 and remains posted on the university's website.