U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick testifies during the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Judiciary, Science, and Related Agencies hearing on the fiscal year 2027 budget request on April 22, 2026, at the Capitol in Washington, DC.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, pressed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about the permit. NvidiaThe letter stating that China’s H200 chip for artificial intelligence will be sold to China was first reported by CNBC.
The letter follows Coons’ questioning of Lutnick during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing last week. Lutnick said it is his understanding that the United States is not selling the H200 to Chinese companies.
“At this time, we are not selling any chips,” Lutnick said in response to questions from Koons during the April 22 hearing.
Lutnick’s statement contradicts what Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told reporters in March that Nvidia had received approval from both the U.S. and Chinese governments to sell its H200 chips to China.
“Your statements before the committee appear to contradict Mr. Huang’s comments,” Coons said in a letter sent Thursday.
Coons, who is also a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent the letter weeks before President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit China to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Trump administration told Nvidia in 2025 that it would need a license to export chips to China and a handful of other countries. Previously, at least one-fifth of Nvidia’s data center revenue came from sales in China.
Coons said he remains “deeply concerned” about the export of H200 chips to China, adding: “Allowing any company in China to purchase these products poses significant risks to our national security and economic leadership.”
In his letter, Mr. Coons asked Mr. Lutnick to respond next week about how many H200 chips have been licensed for export to China, how many have been shipped to China, and how many more the Commerce Department plans to license.
A Commerce Department spokesperson did not respond to an email requesting comment.
