Wei Shaojun from the China Semiconductor Industry Association talks about NVIDIA H200 chip: unwavering confidence and determination in the path of localization

On January 6 local time, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang revealed during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas that they are currently finalizing the last details of the export license for the H200 chip to China with the U.S. government, and they expect to deliver soon. On December 8 last year, the U.S. government allowed NVIDIA to export the H200 chip to "approved customers" in China under "national security conditions." Subsequently, media reports indicated that NVIDIA would deliver the first batch of chips to China before the Spring Festival in 2026.

Wei Shaojun, vice chairman of the China Semiconductor Industry Association, stated in an exclusive interview with the Global Times that "from the perspective of industry development, the reasonable flow of high-end computing resources helps promote the application exploration of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence. Technology knows no borders, and cooperation promotes progress. As long as it meets the regulatory requirements of both parties, any positive interaction that benefits technological innovation and industrial development is welcome."

The H200 chip is NVIDIA's second-tier chip, just below the Blackwell series, which was banned from export to China during the Biden administration. The Trump administration sought a balance between restricting the export of the most advanced Blackwell series chips and "not exporting at all, which would instead accelerate China's domestic substitution," ultimately allowing conditional export of the H200 chip to China, but requiring approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce for export licenses.

"From this perspective, the U.S.'s unpredictable attitude, sometimes 'lifting restrictions' and sometimes applying pressure on high-end chips, makes it difficult for users to confirm its true strategic intentions. Is the recent so-called 'relaxation' a signal to promote positive interaction, or a new strategy intended to disrupt our development pace and make us let down our guard?" Wei Shaojun cautioned that the Chinese semiconductor industry must remain highly vigilant, resolutely not to be deceived by its surface, and must not waver in its confidence and determination to adhere to the path of domestic production in advanced processes and other fields.

Wei Shaojun further analyzed that appropriately introducing advanced computing products can alleviate some demand pressure in certain application scenarios in the short term, especially in fields such as scientific research, healthcare, and smart cities, which can help accelerate the implementation and transformation of artificial intelligence technology in China. However, even with the introduction of NVIDIA chips, it will not shake our determination to adhere to independent innovation. It is precisely in this high-level competition that Chinese companies are forced to make rapid breakthroughs in architecture design, packaging integration, and toolchain development.

Wei Shaojun emphasized, "The introduction is to catch up better; catching up will eventually lead to running alongside and even leading. We must deeply understand that only by unwaveringly following the path of independent innovation and continuously enhancing core technological competitiveness can we stand firm and take the initiative in this smoke-free technological game, ultimately promoting the high-quality development of China's semiconductor industry and contributing the necessary Chinese wisdom and strength to global technological progress."

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