Chinese entrepreneur boasts receipt of 200 NVIDIA H200 GPUs in Beijing despite US export ban

In a series of videos uploaded to Chinese social media platform Douyin, Beijing-based entrepreneur Su Di showcased his access to Nvidia’s H100 and H200 GPUs, despite the U.S.'s stringent efforts to block the export of these cutting-edge generative AI chips to China.

Su, co-founder of the startup incubator Kun Lun Nest (昆仑巢), revealed the arrival of 200 units of the H200 GPUs at his office. Addressing viewers' concerns about the legality of his actions, Su admitted the products violated U.S. export laws amidst ongoing sanctions targeting Chinese technology. He humorously remarked that president-elect Donald Trump would likely be “furious” over this development.

Su defended the efforts of the individual responsible for securing and transporting the GPUs, praising their contribution to enhancing China’s AI capabilities by supplying the hardware necessary for large-model computations.

In subsequent videos, Su dismissed netizen accusations of “smuggling” and justified importing GPUs despite the ban, emphasizing China’s current technological gap in domestically produced GPUs and AI chips.

He highlighted the importance of boosting computational power, which he argued underpins essential advancements ranging from accurate weather forecasts to military simulations.

Earlier this month, Washington announced a third wave of export restrictions within three years, targeting 140 entities, including Chinese semiconductor manufacturers, to “further impair” China’s ability to produce chips with military applications.

In retaliation, Beijing restricted exports of critical minerals, such as gallium and germanium, to the U.S., and launched an anti-monopoly investigation into Nvidia for alleged competition law violations.