China’s unease over the Trump administration’s decision to allow Nvidia to sell its advanced H200 artificial intelligence chips to Chinese companies under new export rules has deepened as diplomatic, economic and security considerations converge.

President Donald Trump’s policy reversal — which permits H200 exports under conditions including a U.S. government share of revenue and national security safeguards — was framed in Washington as a pragmatic balance between protecting U.S. technological leadership and engaging China’s vast tech market.

Yet within Beijing and the Chinese tech sector, the gesture is widely interpreted through a more strategic lens, with Chinese authorities and industry observers warning that such a move could be a sophisticated ‘Trojan horse’ designed to expand U.S. influence within China’s AI ecosystem even as China pushes for semiconductor self-sufficiency.

Recent reporting indicates that Chinese customs officials have instructed agents to effectively bar H200 imports and domestic tech companies have been urged to hold off orders pending regulatory clarity, suggesting Beijing is wary of external influence as it weighs conditions for any H200 approval amid national security and industrial policy priorities.

The H200 chips are Nvidia’s second-most powerful processors, offering far greater performance than the previously restricted H20 products and far outpacing many Chinese alternatives.

Trump’s export rules aim to limit use to vetted commercial customers, ensure adequate U.S. supply and prohibit military applications, while imposing requirements such as third-party performance testing and revenue-sharing to safeguard American interests.

Supporters of the policy argue it could encourage Chinese reliance on U.S. technology — slowing Beijing’s indigenous development efforts and ensuring a degree of interdependence that protects long-term U.S. competitiveness in artificial intelligence.

Nonetheless, many Chinese analysts view the move as a calculated attempt to embed U.S. hardware within key Chinese research and commercial AI activities, potentially exposing Chinese firms to external controls and shaping their technological trajectories in ways that benefit American industry and leverage Washington’s negotiating power in broader trade and technology talks.

Beijing’s caution also reflects broader strategic anxieties about national security, economic autonomy and geopolitical competition.

By conditioning or even temporarily halting H200 imports, Chinese authorities appear intent on gaining concessions and protecting domestic innovation while preventing what they perceive as over-reliance on foreign tech.

The unfolding situation thus underscores the high-stakes interplay between U.S. efforts to maintain leadership in AI and China’s pursuit of technological independence and strategic leverage, with both sides manoeuvring not only over chip exports but broader geopolitical and economic goals in the era of advanced semiconductors.

Claire Lai, the daughter of jailed pro-democracy activist and media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, is intensifying her efforts in Washington and abroad to persuade international actors, including the United States, to help secure her father’s release after he was convicted under Hong Kong’s national security law.

Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty in December 2025 of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and seditious publishing, charges he and his supporters have dismissed as politically motivated.

He faces the possibility of a life sentence, and his health has reportedly deteriorated during more than five years of detention, much of it spent in solitary confinement, according to his daughter and legal team.

Speaking to media and policymakers in Washington, Claire Lai described her father’s declining condition and emotional toll, urging a diplomatic push from the United States and other governments to pressure Chinese authorities for his release.

She has framed the case not only as a personal appeal but as a broader plea for the protection of fundamental freedoms and rule of law in Hong Kong.

During these engagements, she told audiences that, if freed, her father would focus on his family and faith rather than political activism, underscoring his age and health challenges.

Her advocacy has drawn sympathy from bipartisan U.S. representatives and contributed to wider discussions among Western capitals about possible diplomatic avenues to intervene, even as Chinese and Hong Kong authorities maintain the conviction and sentencing process is an internal legal matter.

International responses, including appeals from some U.S. policymakers and previous outreach by President Donald Trump to Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding Lai’s case, reflect a rare convergence of diplomatic concern over human rights issues entwined with strategic geopolitical discourse.

Despite these overtures, Beijing has yet to concede any substantive change in its position.

Claire Lai’s campaign illustrates the intersection of human rights advocacy and international diplomacy, highlighting continued friction over the future of civil liberties in Hong Kong under the national security regime.

Her actions aim to sustain global attention on her father’s plight as the legal process advances toward sentencing, reinforcing calls for engagement by leaders to address what supporters view as a matter of justice and humanitarian urgency.

Hong Kong’s High Court has concluded the mitigation hearings in the long-running national security trial of media tycoon Jimmy Lai, bringing the case a step nearer to its sentencing phase.

The former founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and eight co-defendants presented arguments over two days seeking more lenient penalties before the judges, with an official sentencing date yet to be set.

Lai, now 78, was found guilty last month on charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious material under the city’s Beijing-imposed national security law.

He has denied all charges, asserting that he is a political prisoner enduring persecution.

His trial began in December 2023, and he has spent more than 1,800 days in solitary confinement while proceedings have extended over multiple years.

Defence lawyers urged the court to temper their clients’ sentences by highlighting factors such as limited involvement in conspiracy roles and, in Lai’s case, his advanced age and health concerns.

However, presiding Judge Alex Lee indicated that the offences could warrant severe punishment, pointing to provisions of the national security law that allow for sentences ranging from ten years to life imprisonment.

Several foreign diplomats, including representatives from the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, attended the hearings, reflecting sustained international attention on the case’s implications for press freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong.

Lai’s family has publicly challenged assertions about his conduct in detention, citing difficult conditions and limited access to outdoor exercise.

Hong Kong authorities maintain that the trial has been conducted fairly and that the national security law has restored stability to the city following the protests of 2019. 

With mitigation arguments concluded, the court will now determine a sentencing date, keeping global eyes on a case that has become a focal point for debates about civil liberties in the former British colony and the broader impact of national security legislation on society and media institutions.