Seven Chinese Military-Linked Universities Seeking Nvidia H200 AI Chips Despite US Entity List Bans

At least seven Chinese universities supporting China's armed forces — including Beihang University and Northwestern Polytechnical University, both on the US Commerce Department's Entity List — are actively seeking access to Nvidia H200 chips, the most powerful AI processors ever approved for export to China, according to Bloomberg's review of procurement records. More than 25 military- and defense-linked Chinese institutions were identified as either already using or actively pursuing restricted Nvidia hardware. The disclosures land on the same day the US Commerce Department issued guidance reaffirming that licensing restrictions apply to all China-headquartered companies regardless of where they physically operate, closing a gap that briefly reopened when the Biden AI Diffusion Framework was rescinded.