Blacklisted Chinese university with PLA ties acquires Nvidia H200 chips via domestic supplier

A Chinese university with ties to the People's Liberation Army purchased Nvidia's H200 AI chips last month despite being on a US export blacklist, according to procurement records, highlighting gaps in Washington's efforts to curb China's access to advanced technology. Northwestern Polytechnical University bought two H200 chips for 874,700 yuan ($123,000) through domestic supplier Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology, not directly from Nvidia. The university, added to the US Entity List in 2001, also rented access to H200 and other restricted chips through five contracts this year. The purchases come as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang faces scrutiny over lobbying for looser AI chip export restrictions, with US lawmakers arguing such access could speed China's military AI development. Other Chinese universities, including Shenzhen University and Beihang University, also acquired restricted Nvidia chips through domestic suppliers this year.