Northwestern Polytechnical University, a defense-focused school in Xi’an on a US trade blacklist, bought two Nvidia H200 AI chips from Chinese supplier Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology for 874,700 yuan (about US$123,000), according to an October 21 procurement record.

The purchase shows a gap in US export controls. Exports of H200 chips to China are controlled, but can still be approved case by case.

Separate rules for blacklisted institutions such as Northwestern Polytechnical generally lead the US to deny license applications.

US authorities previously secured a sentence against a Chinese national for illegally exporting controlled technology to Northwestern Polytechnical, showing the university’s sensitivity in US export enforcement.

Five computing contracts also show that Northwestern Polytechnical rented access this year to Nvidia processors through Chinese suppliers.

This suggests blacklisted Chinese institutions can still use restricted chips through rented computing services and intermediaries.

🔗 Source: Reuters

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