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A New York Times investigation reported that of the dozens of Chinese companies approved to distribute or purchase Huida H200 chips, some are suspected of being shell companies and linked to sanctioned or military-related organizations, highlighting US scrutiny and concerns about national security risks.
Late last year, President Trump agreed that dozens of Chinese companies could be sold to Nvidia as long as they passed a Commerce Department review.Huida which also translates as Nvidia’s H200 chip, but media investigations found that some of the dozens of Chinese companies passing the review were related to US government-sanctioned companies, raising national security concerns.
according tonew York Times According to the investigation, the office of a company called “New Matrix”, located in a newly constructed industrial park in the northwestern suburbs of Beijing, is vacant. The registered office address does not include the company. Even the personnel of the Industrial Park Property Management Office do not have any record of the company.
Chinese company registration information shows that the owner of New Matrix is related to a well-known Chinese private equity fund, which was included in the trade blacklist by the US government in 2024. Analysts estimate that it is likely to be an “empty shell” put on the table by the New Matrix Fund.
The New York Times investigation also found that Zhejiang Yindun Cloud Technology belongs to a cloud computing giant called Range Intelligent Computing Technology Group, which has provided services to military contractors.
Lisa Tobin, former China director of the White House National Security Council, said bluntly: “I am deeply concerned that neither the Commerce Department nor Nvidia have conducted the necessary and due diligence investigations to ensure that the relevant license terms are actually followed.”
In December last year, Trump approved the sale of H200 chips (older models but still powerful) to China by Nvidia, and said that H200 chips assembled in Taiwan would have to pass through the United States before being shipped to China so that the federal government could impose a 25% tariff. People familiar with the matter revealed that the Commerce Department sanctioned about 20 companies, including Baidu, BYD and Tesla Shanghai. Shanghai) and other large enterprises purchase or handle H200 chips, and the number of purchases reaches thousands, but the quota limit has not yet been reached.
In order to fully support domestically produced chips, the Chinese government is very conservative in granting approval to domestic companies to purchase Nvidia chips. As of July this year, revenue from H200 chips delivered to Chinese customers accounted for less than 1% of Nvidia’s total data center business revenue. Nvidia spokesman John Rizzo reiterated that “it is extremely inappropriate for the Chinese military to rely on American technology,” emphasizing that Nvidia “sells its most advanced and high-quality technology products to the American market.”
A spokesperson for the Industry and Security Bureau of the Ministry of Commerce also stressed that all applications are subject to strict national security review, and revealed that in 2025, companies will be fined a total of about 324 million yuan for illegal exports. This year, more than 90 additional personnel will be hired to strengthen the implementation of technical regulations.
The New York Times recently reported on Huida’s continued exposure of national security concerns about high-end chips that were shipped to China with permission, including Huida’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang being involved in Chinese espionage infiltration and being investigated by the United States.
Summary FAQ
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The report pointed out that some Chinese companies that have passed the US Commerce Department’s review and are able to purchase or handle Huida H200 chips may just be shell companies and may be sanctioned by the United States or belong to organizations with a military background.
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New Matrix’s office and registration information is very doubtful, and there is almost no trace of physical operations; Zhejiang Yindun Cloud Technology is accused of belonging to Runze Intelligent Computing Technology Group, which once provided services to military contractors.
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The US Commerce Department stressed that all applications undergo strict national security review and strengthen law enforcement manpower; Huida said the Chinese military’s reliance on US technology is unreasonable and it mainly sells advanced products to the US market.
