Nvidia $NVDA ( ▲ 0.47% ) is pushing back on a spicy claim that had been floating around its China business.
On Tuesday, an Nvidia spokesperson told Reuters the company does not require Chinese customers to pay the full amount up front for its H200 AI chips, directly rebutting a January 8 Reuters report that suggested Nvidia was using stricter payment terms due to regulatory uncertainty in China.
The “Pay First, Get Chips Later” Rumor Gets Smacked Down
The logic behind the original report was pretty straightforward: if Chinese regulators might block imports, Nvidia would want to protect itself by collecting cash before shipping.
But Nvidia’s response to Reuters was blunt:
It “would never require customers to pay for products they do not receive.”
That does not fully answer every supply chain detail, but it does kill the cleanest version of the rumor.
Why China H200 Demand Is Suddenly a Big Deal
This drama matters because H200 is Nvidia’s best chip from the Hopper generation, and the numbers being thrown around here are massive.
Recent reporting suggests:
demand for H200 in China is extremely hot
Chinese companies have placed orders for 2 million units in 2026
Nvidia is planning to sell them for around $27,000 each
Do the math and you get a $54 billion revenue opportunity.
So yeah, payment terms are not just some boring footnote when the stakes are that high.
The Real Story: Regulators Decide Everything
Trump reportedly said on December 8 that Nvidia could ship H200s to China, but Chinese regulators still have to approve imports, and Beijing has been aggressively trying to boost domestic chip alternatives.
Other recent reporting suggests:
Nvidia plans to begin shipping H200 GPUs to China by mid-February
Nvidia has asked TSMC to boost production
Bloomberg reported China may allow purchases “as soon as this quarter”
Bottom line: Nvidia’s message is clear, they are not forcing customers to prepay for chips they may not receive. But the bigger takeaway is that China’s H200 pipeline is shaping up to be one of the most important (and politically sensitive) growth drivers for Nvidia in 2026.