Nvidia demands upfront payment for H200 chips: China risk

Nvidia is requiring Chinese customers to pay in full for H200 GPUs and, according to reporting, is not allowing cancellations or order changes while Chinese regulators review import approvals. Reuters first reported the payment requirement and DataCenterDynamics relayed the detail.

Chinese regulators have told some companies to pause H200 orders while import approvals are reviewed, per The Information. Bloomberg says Beijing could clear purchases as soon as this quarter. At the same time, multiple outlets report shipments are ramping and initial batches may arrive before Lunar New Year (mid‑February 2026). That creates a gap between physical deliveries and formal regulatory clearance.

Requiring full upfront payment shifts inventory and financing risk to Chinese buyers. It complicates procurement and compliance, and could prompt secondary-market sales or rapid reselling if approvals are delayed or denied. IT, procurement, legal, and finance teams should treat near-term H200 orders as carrying both payment and approval risk and take steps to protect budgets, contracts, and deployment schedules.

Why It Matters

• Payment risk: Full upfront payment moves inventory and financing exposure to buyers—finance teams must model delays or denied approvals for cash flow and budgeting.
• Procurement action: Negotiate escrow, conditional delivery, or defined cancellation rights where possible; identify alternate suppliers or spare-capacity plans for AI clusters.
• Compliance and timing: Security and legal teams should monitor import-approval status and regulator communications closely; approval timing can change deployment windows.
• Operational impact: Early shipments arriving before clearance increase legal and operational risk—data-center teams should pause deployment plans until approvals and contracts align.