Blacklisted Chinese university announces deal for Nvidia AI chips

Northwestern Polytechnical University’s management school named Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology as the supplier in an announcement published on 21 October. The two H200 accelerator cards were listed at 437,350 yuan each, for a total of 874,700 yuan, or about $123,000.

Reuters, which reported the purchase, said the university has close ties to China’s military. The US placed it on a trade blacklist in 2001 over alleged involvement in missile proliferation and military research, and tightened restrictions in 2019.

The H200 can be used to train and run advanced AI systems. Washington began allowing some exports of the chips to China on a case-by-case basis in January, but separate restrictions remain for blacklisted organisations such as the university. Licences for controlled US technology exports to it are generally denied.

The university’s announcement does not say how the supplier obtained the cards or confirm that they were delivered or paid for. Reuters said the university, Nvidia and the US Bureau of Industry and Security did not respond to requests for comment.