Beijing to let Chinese AI companies buy Nvidia H200 chips

China had previously restricted the import of Nvidia's H200 chips on concerns that a flood of American-designed AI processors would hinder the government's long-held goal of developing an indigenous chip industry. China plans to allow its top artificial intelligence companies to buy a limited number of H200 chips from Nvidia, a sign the country is easing restrictions on the coveted U.S. technology, according to The Information news site. Chinese officials have informed companies such as Alibaba Group Holding, ByteDance and DeepSeek that they will have permission to purchase some of the processors, which are used to develop AI models, the news site said Wednesday. The companies need to say how many chips they need -- and why -- to get approval, according to The Information. The chips have emerged as a geopolitical flash point for the world's two largest economies.