A Reuters review has identified more than $3 billion in Chinese computing projects built around Nvidia’s restricted processors. Nvidia has said US export controls have effectively shut it out of the AI data-centre market in China, the world’s second-largest economy.
The projects run from wealthy coastal technology hubs to remote western provinces. They show how deeply Nvidia technology remains embedded in China’s AI growth.
The findings come a day after Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang resigned as chief executive over a scandal. Huang had pushed for looser export limits. His departure could deepen the vulnerabilities of Chinese companies exposed to delays and supply disruption if US curbs tighten.
Billions at stake
A proposed 6.2 billion yuan ($873 million) AI computing centre in Xianyou county, Fujian province, seeks commercial partners. It specifies Nvidia H100 chips for a facility meant to support large-scale AI development.
In Shaanxi province, in the north-west, state-owned engineering group Sinomach said a subsidiary won a contract in a project for a 3 billion yuan computing centre. It specifies Nvidia H100 and H200 processors.
In Jilin province, in the north-east, an April government prospectus describes a 2.26 billion yuan project. It combines Nvidia H100 processors with Chinese-developed chips. The developer expects bank loans to fund about 80% of the investment.
In Inner Mongolia, a 1.5 billion yuan development plans to install 625 Nvidia H200 servers. Chinese industry reporting in June said construction had started on two buildings in its first phase. These plans show developers reliance on US processors that are exposed to trade limits. Tighter curbs could bring construction delays, higher costs or forced redesigns around domestic chips.
Projects further along
In Gansu province, in the north-west, a local company won a 1.16 billion yuan construction contract in July for a computing centre. It plans to install about 3,072 Nvidia processors, according to tender documents that specify H100 and H200 hardware. A consortium led by a subsidiary of state-owned Shaanxi Construction Engineering won the contract. The documents do not show whether the processors have been delivered.
Other Chinese sites already use restricted Nvidia hardware. In Jiangsu province, in the east, the Wuxi government said in March 2025 that a computing cluster using Nvidia H800 processors had gone into operation.
In Fujian, Shanghai-listed Damingcheng disclosed in June that a computing venture had built an H800 cluster. It had signed a computing-services agreement originally worth 759 million yuan. The contract ended early.
Research buyers
Smaller purchases show demand among research institutions. Shenzhen University awarded a contract for three H100 processors in September. Northwestern Polytechnical University, which the US has blacklisted, bought two H200 chips the following month, Reuters reported separately.
