While President Donald Trump and his entourage, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, Reuters China reported that the United States “has cleared around 10 Chinese firms to buy Nvidia’s second-most powerful AI chip, the H200.” The Chinese firms reportedly include Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance, the owner of TikTok.
In December 2025, Trump announced on social media that he had “informed President Xi, of China, that the United States will allow NVIDIA to ship its H200 products to approved customers in China and other Countries” and that “$25% will be paid to the United States of America.” The change in policy drew objections, with one social media commenter writing: “The 25% payment feels like a distraction from the bigger issue: why are we helping China close the AI gap at all?”
Former deputy senior director for technology and national security at the National Security Council (NSC), Chris McGuire, responded to the Reuters scoop that the Chinese buyers have been vetted, writing: “This is a complete own goal. It would triple the amount of AI computing power that China adds next year – before taking into account illegal smuggling. And it would divert scarce AI compute resources away from U.S. firms. This will help China close the gap with the U.S. in AI.”
McGuire added: “It is remarkable that President Trump keeps getting convinced to put Nvidia’s interest ahead of America’s.”
This is a complete own goal. It would triple the amount of AI computing power that China adds next year – before taking into account illegal smuggling. And it would divert scarce AI compute resources away from U.S. firms. This will help China close the gap with the U.S. in AI. https://t.co/FVs1b9NfkX
— Chris McGuire (@ChrisRMcGuire) May 14, 2026
[NOTE: Huang told Bloomberg a year ago that Chinese chipmaker Huawei’s AI products were “probably” comparable to Nvidia’s H200, which some saw as positioning the China opening as less dangerous than others believe. Despite Huang’s claim of a near-equal competitor in Huawei, the demand for Nvidia chips in China remains high.]
McGuire’s reaction tracks with that of another former national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who reacted to the December deal announcement by writing: “This decision is nuts.” He added, “America and China are competing for leadership on A.I…China’s main problem is they don’t have enough advanced computing capability. It makes no sense that President Trump is solving their problem for them by selling them powerful American chips. We are literally handing away our advantage. China’s leaders can’t believe their luck.”
McGuire, who also served as a senior advisor in the State Department and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and at the Department of Defense as a special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is currently a senior fellow for China and emerging technologies at the Council on Foreign Relations.