It was determined that Northwestern Polytechnical University, which has close connections with the Chinese People's Liberation Army, purchased Nvidia's advanced H200 artificial intelligence chips, despite being on the US export blacklist.
The university purchased two H200 processors for 874,700 yuan (about $123,000) in October, according to official purchasing records reviewed by Reuters.
In the university's records dated October 21, it was seen that the processors were supplied not directly from Nvidia, but from the China-based Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology company.
The purchase has revived debates about the effectiveness of US export controls to limit China's access to advanced artificial intelligence technologies.
IT IS ON THE BLACK LIST OF THE USA
Northwestern Polytechnical University, located in Xi'an, China, is among the universities known as the "Seven Sons of National Defense", which have close relations with the country's defense industry.
The university, which conducts research on military aircraft, missiles and satellites, was placed on the export blacklist by the US Department of Commerce in 2001.
The Washington administration justified this decision by claiming that the university was involved in activities aimed at the spread of missile technologies and conducted military research.
In 2019, the USA further aggravated the restrictions and adopted a policy of largely rejecting license applications for the export of controlled American technologies to universities.
But new purchasing records reveal that the university had access to advanced American processors despite these restrictions.
HE ALSO ACCESSED PROHIBITED CHIP THROUGH RENTAL SERVERS
Nvidia's H200 processor is among the high-performance chips used in training and running advanced artificial intelligence models.
While the sale of these processors, which are subject to US export controls, to China requires license approval, applications for blacklisted organizations are rejected under normal circumstances.
According to records obtained by Reuters, in addition to purchasing H200 chips directly, Northwestern Polytechnical University also accessed advanced Nvidia processors through servers it rented from Chinese companies.
The university's cyber security unit signed two seven-month contracts each to use servers with eight H200 processors in January.
The contracts, worth 441 thousand 700 yuan and 441 thousand yuan, were intended to be used in fine-tuning training and reinforcement learning studies of artificial intelligence models.
The university also rented access to servers containing eight A100 and eight A800 processors.
In April, another research unit affiliated with the university signed a contract worth 375 thousand yuan for a computing service that requires at least 24 A100 processors for use in structural analysis and fluid dynamics simulations.
REUTERS REVIEWED 26 PURCHASING RECORDS
A Reuters review of 26 purchase and company records from this year showed that Nvidia processors, exports of which the US has restricted, continue to be used by universities and research institutions in China.
In the documents, it was seen that some organizations purchased processors directly, while others rented services from servers hosting these chips through Chinese suppliers.
Some of the processing institutions have close ties to China's defense industry and military research programs.
According to records, Shenzhen University purchased three Nvidia H100 processors for 769 thousand 800 yuan in September.
Wuhan University of Technology supplied a server containing one H100 processor for 355 thousand yuan and four A100 processors for 344 thousand yuan in June.
It was determined that Beihang University, one of China's defense-oriented universities, purchased four A800 processors for 489 thousand yuan in April.
In the public procurement announcements for the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in July and September, it was seen that companies that would provide computing services with Nvidia H800 and A800 processors were selected.
In one of the announcements in question, the fee for access to the H800 processor was stated as 10 yuan per hour per chip.
THE EXPORT POLICY OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS BEING DISCUSSED
In January, US President Donald Trump's administration began allowing the export of Nvidia's H200 processors to China under certain conditions and by evaluating applications individually.
However, this regulation did not lift the restrictions imposed on organizations on the US export blacklist.
Within the scope of the new licensing rules, it was also required to take security measures to prevent blacklisted institutions and military end users from remotely accessing the exported processors.
Despite this, documents obtained by Reuters revealed that Chinese institutions were able to access advanced American processors through local suppliers.
The purchase records did not contain sufficient information about where the processors were originally obtained or where the rented servers were located.
PRESSURE INCREASES ON NVIDIA CEO IN WASHINGTON
The developments coincided with a period when Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang's initiatives to loosen restrictions on artificial intelligence chip exports to China were being discussed in Washington.
Huang argues that if American companies continue to sell technology to China, the United States will maintain its technological leadership and Chinese customers will remain dependent on American technologies.
However, some lawmakers in the US Congress warn that advanced artificial intelligence processors could accelerate China's weapons design, intelligence analysis and military modernization efforts.
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have called for systems to track advanced processors and increased congressional oversight of exports.
All three Republican committee chairmen requested a briefing from Huang on Nov. 18 following allegations about his contacts with an alleged Chinese intelligence officer.
ALTERNATIVE SUPPLY NETWORK FOR CHIPS BANNED IN CHINA
Reuters had previously reported that Chinese organizations procured Nvidia processors, whose exports the USA restricted, from local vendors through servers produced by Super Micro Computer, Dell and Gigabyte.
The agency's previous research also revealed that an unregistered market was created for stocks abroad and processors delivered to China through intermediaries operating in third countries.
In another news published by Reuters last week, it was stated that although the Beijing administration did not approve large-scale H200 imports, a limited number of processors reached China indirectly.
