A military-linked Chinese university on the US export blacklist awarded a contract for two Nvidia H200 AI chips to a domestic supplier in October 2026. Northwestern Polytechnical University, based in Xi'an, also awarded two contracts for computing time on H200-equipped servers earlier in the year.
The university's management school named Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology as its supplier on 21 October in an award worth 874,700 yuan (about US$123,000 or £92,000).
The notice confirms the award, while delivery, the chips' route into China and any export-control breach remain unverified.
What the University Ordered
The October notice specified two Nvidia H200 PCIe accelerator cards, each with 141 GB of memory, at 437,350 yuan apiece. The H200 is designed for data centres, where it can train and run AI models.
EXCLUSIVE: Chinese university bought Nvidia H200 chips despite US blacklist https://t.co/wY6x0DYy2n
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 11, 2026
The university's cybersecurity school announced two seven-month computing awards on 28 January, worth 441,700 yuan and 441,000 yuan. Each specified access to a server with eight H200 chips for work including fine-tuning AI models and reinforcement learning, which uses feedback to train a system.
The January contracts were for computing services, so they did not require the university to take possession of the processors. The procurement records leave open where the servers operated and how much computing time the university used.
Northwestern Polytechnical is one of China's defence-focused universities known as the 'Seven Sons of National Defence', and its research includes military aircraft, missiles and satellites.
The October award identifies the management school as the buyer and gives no military purpose for the two cards.
What US Export Rules Restrict
The US Commerce Department added the university to its Entity List in 2001 and tightened restrictions in 2019. A licence is required to export, re-export or transfer items subject to US export regulations to the university, and applications are reviewed under a presumption of denial.
On 15 January 2026, Washington began reviewing qualifying H200 export applications for China and Macau on a case-by-case basis.
The policy excludes transactions involving listed parties and requires both safeguards against unauthorised remote access and independent testing in the US before each authorised shipment leaves the country.
Nvidia disclosed in August that it had received US licences to ship limited quantities of H200 products to specific customers in China. The company said Chinese government restrictions had limited those sales, and its disclosure did not connect those licences to the university's order.
What Remains Unverified
The October award and two January H200 rental notices became unavailable on the university's website on 11 November after the procurement findings were reported. Archived copies preserve the award details, and the reason the pages became unavailable remains unclear.
Nvidia, the university and the US Bureau of Industry and Security were approached for comment when the awards were first reported, but no response had been reported. The supplier's contact details could not be established at the time.
The October notice identifies the immediate supplier, while the original exporter and any applicable licence remain unknown. A delivery or acceptance record could establish whether the university received the cards, while shipment and licensing records could help trace how they reached the supplier.
