Procurement Notices Detail Four Nvidia H200 Cards at Blacklisted NWPU
What happened
Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xi'an, which is on the U.S. export-control Entity List, acquired four Nvidia H200 AI accelerator cards in 2026 through domestic Chinese suppliers. The university also rented access to Nvidia-powered servers, including systems with H200, A800, and A100 GPUs, for research and computing services. These purchases and rentals occurred despite U.S. export restrictions that require licenses for such technology transfers to the university. The procurement records show the university obtained these advanced chips and services for research, including military-related projects.
Key details
- Four Nvidia H200 cards were bought in two separate contracts: two for 874,700 yuan on October 21, 2026, and two for 796,000 yuan on September 4, 2026.
- Server rental contracts included two eight-GPU Nvidia HGX H200 systems, each costing over 441,000 yuan for several months in 2026.
- Additional server rentals covered eight Nvidia A800 GPUs for 240,000 yuan and eight Nvidia A100 GPUs for 471,600 yuan, both for 12 months starting in 2026.
- The university has been on the U.S. Entity List since May 14, 2001, with tightened restrictions since 2019.
- U.S. rules require licenses for exports of H200 and similar chips to China, with specific conditions that do not override Entity List restrictions.
Why it matters
Chinese universities and defense-linked institutions can still obtain restricted U.S. AI hardware and computing power through domestic suppliers, even when direct exports are barred. This allows blacklisted entities like Northwestern Polytechnical University to access advanced AI capabilities for research, including military applications, despite export controls. The situation creates enforcement challenges for U.S. authorities and affects the effectiveness of current technology restrictions.