Former President Donald Trump announced on Monday that Nvidia will be allowed to sell its H200 AI chips to approved customers in China. The move comes amid ongoing debates over advanced chip exports, weighing concerns that China could enhance its artificial intelligence capabilities against the goal of supporting American companies and fostering innovation.

Trump conveyed the decision via social media, noting that he had informed Chinese President Xi Jinping, who reportedly responded positively. Trump emphasized that the policy is aimed at supporting American jobs, strengthening domestic manufacturing, and benefiting taxpayers. Nvidia welcomed the announcement, praising the Commerce Department’s vetting of commercial customers as a balanced approach between economic opportunity and national security.

Importantly, the H200 chip is not Nvidia’s most advanced product. Higher-end chips, including Blackwell and the forthcoming Rubin, were explicitly excluded from the approval, restricting the export of cutting-edge AI technology.

A group of Democratic senators, including Chris Coons and Elizabeth Warren, voiced opposition. They argued that exporting such chips could give China’s military transformative capabilities, enable more effective cyberattacks, and bolster China’s economic competitiveness. The senators also cited comments from Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, which identified limited access to advanced U.S. chips as a key hurdle in competing with companies like OpenAI and Microsoft.

Trump also mentioned that the Commerce Department is working on similar approvals for other chipmakers, including AMD and Intel. The H200 approval highlights the close ties between Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Trump. Following the announcement, Nvidia’s stock saw a modest rise in after-hours trading, reflecting investor confidence in expanded market access.