NVIDIA Corporation shares rose in premarket trading on January 23, 2026, after indications that China is moving closer to allowing purchases of its H200 AI chips. The stock traded at $187.55 premarket, up $2.82 or 1.53% from the previous close of $184.84.
People familiar with the discussions said Chinese regulators have granted in-principle approval for the country’s largest tech firms to prepare orders. The step signals a possible reopening of a major market for NVIDIA’s data center AI accelerators.
Chinese authorities have given in-principle approval for leading tech companies to begin purchase preparations for NVIDIA’s H200 chips, according to people familiar with the matter. The firms include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd., and ByteDance Ltd.
The companies can now discuss order specifics, including the quantities they would require, the people said. Final approval terms have not been publicly detailed.
Beijing may attach conditions to any permission, the people said. Authorities may require companies to buy a certain amount of domestic chips as a prerequisite. No quota has been set yet, the people said. Companies are working through demand estimates and compliance requirements.
The discussions indicate China is preparing to authorize imports of components needed to develop and run AI systems. The H200 is an older-generation NVIDIA AI accelerator used widely in data center workloads.
The Trump administration has said the H200 can be shipped to China despite restrictions on the sale of cutting-edge components tied to national security concerns. Those limits have shaped the global market for advanced AI hardware.
People familiar with the talks said China may permit some H200 imports as early as this quarter. The chips would be barred from sensitive agencies and critical infrastructure under the current approach, although the definition and enforcement remain under debate.
That framework would allow commercial use while restricting deployments tied to national security. Officials have not clarified which buyers or sectors would face limits.
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Alibaba and ByteDance previously told NVIDIA they would like to acquire more than 200,000 H200 chips each, according to people familiar with the matter. The parties have not finalized quantities or delivery timing.
NVIDIA executives have said Chinese customers show strong demand for the H200. However, they have also said NVIDIA has not discussed approval directly with Beijing and does not know when China will approve sales.
NVIDIA Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang has said the AI chip market alone could generate $50 billion in the coming years. The Chinese market remains central to that growth outlook.
Chinese rivals have expanded during NVIDIA’s restricted access, including Huawei Technologies Co. and Cambricon Technologies Corp., which plan to increase manufacturing. Beijing has also advanced a self-sufficiency drive that includes incentives worth up to $70 billion for the semiconductor industry.
China’s recent approach has also tightened around other NVIDIA products. In mid-2025, Chinese authorities advised local businesses not to use NVIDIA’s H20 chips, an AI accelerator previously allowed for export to China. China’s cyberspace agency also instructed companies such as Alibaba to stop placing orders for NVIDIA’s RTX Pro 6000D workstation processor, which can support AI applications.
Markets tied the regulatory shift to NVIDIA stock move. Shares closed at $184.84 on January 22, 2026, up $1.66 or 0.91%, before extending gains in premarket trading to $187.55.
NVIDIA’s market capitalization stood at about $4.5 trillion. The stock carried a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 45.64 and a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15.
Supply constraints have also created premium pricing signals inside China. Black market servers containing eight H200 graphics processing units (GPUs) have sold for 2.3 million yuan, or about $330,403, reflecting a 50% premium.
NVIDIA stock price movement has also tightened sales terms for H200 chips, requiring upfront payments and adopting strict no-flexibility conditions as it navigates regulatory complexity between Washington and Beijing.