Nvidia’s artificial-intelligence chips have been at the center of U.S.-China trade negotiations for months, yet it appears China is discouraging its companies from buying one of them: the H20s. Why? Sales of the chips to Chinese companies helped get China to agree to reboot its exports to the U.

Under the terms of the agreement, Nvidia is to pay 15% of its revenues from H20 chip sales in China to the US government. The H20 chip was specifically developed for the Chinese market in response to the US export restrictions imposed by the Biden administration in 2023. The Trump administration effectively banned its sale in April.