- Chinese university Northwestern Polytechnical bought Nvidia H200 AI chips despite US blacklist
- University linked to military research bought chips via Chinese supplier, not directly from Nvidia
- Northwestern secured additional Nvidia chips and computing services through domestic contracts
A Chinese university with close ties to the country's military has purchased Nvidia's powerful H200 artificial intelligence chips despite being blacklisted by Washington, exposing gaps in US efforts to restrict China's access to advanced computing technology.
Northwestern Polytechnical University bought two H200 processors for 874,700 yuan, or approximately $123,000, on Oct. 21, according to Reuters. The purchase was made through a Chinese technology supplier for the university's management school rather than directly from Nvidia.
The development is significant because Northwestern is among China's 'Seven Sons of National Defense' universities. The institution conducts research linked to military aircraft, missiles and satellites.
The US Commerce Department placed it on the Entity List in 2001 and tightened restrictions in 2019. Export licences for controlled American technology to the university are generally subject to denial.
The outright purchase was not its only access to Nvidia hardware. Procurement records show that the university also secured computing services powered by restricted chips through domestic suppliers.
Its cybersecurity school signed two seven-month contracts in January for access to servers containing eight H200 processors each.
The contracts covered AI model fine-tuning and reinforcement-learning training. Other agreements involved Nvidia A100 and A800 processors, which are also restricted from export to China.
Reuters examined 26 procurement and corporate records from this year. They showed Chinese universities and research institutions obtaining restricted Nvidia processors or renting computing capacity through local suppliers. Several institutions had links to China's defence sector.
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Export controls face enforcement challenges
The findings come amid renewed debate over Washington's chip-export policy. President Donald Trump's administration began permitting some H200 exports to China in January through case-by-case licensing. However, this policy did not remove restrictions on blacklisted organisations such as Northwestern.
The licensing framework also requires safeguards against restricted institutions and military users accessing exported processors remotely.
The procurement records raise questions about how effectively authorities can enforce these safeguards when Chinese institutions purchase computing services from domestic providers.
The controversy also comes as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang faces pressure from US lawmakers over his push for broader chip sales to China. Several legislators want stronger tracking mechanisms and congressional oversight.
The purchases highlight a persistent challenge for Washington. Restricting direct chip exports may not prevent access when domestic suppliers can offer computing power through rented servers.
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