UPDATE 1-Nvidia has not yet sold its H200 AI chips to China, Lutnick says

Nvidia's powerful ​H200 AI chips have ‌not ​yet been sold to Chinese companies, Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Wednesday, citing difficulties faced by ‌those firms to get permission from the Chinese government.

"The Chinese central government has not let them, as of yet, buy the chips, because they're trying to ‌keep their investment focused on their own domestic industry," Lutnick said, when asked ‌about H200 sales to China. "We have not sold them chips as of yet," he added.

The Trump administration in January gave a formal green light to China-bound sales of Nvidia's ⁠H200 ​chips with some conditions, ⁠igniting deep concerns among China hawks in Washington who fear Beijing will harness the technology ⁠to supercharge its military. But shipments of the chips have been stymied by disagreements over the ​terms of the sales both in China and the U.S., sources have ⁠said.

Lutnick was also asked on Wednesday if the Trump administration planned to reimpose a rule that ⁠would ​have restricted shipments of advanced U.S. technology to thousands of Chinese companies. The regulation, known as the affiliates rule, was delayed for a year in ⁠November as part of a trade negotiation with China.

"I agree that the affiliates rule ⁠is a ⁠smart thing for the United States of America to consider, but it is part of the balance of that full ‌trade agreement," ‌Lutnick said.