With global scrutiny on computer chip maker Nvidia following CEO Jensen Huang's admitted affair with a suspected Chinese spy, with President Trump praising Huang even as the FBI opened a probe, the U.S. has egg on its face for reportedly letting the company's most advanced AI chips get to China despite an export ban.

Reuters found an Oct. 21 procurement record on the website of Northwestern Polytechnical University, which has "deep ties" to the People's Liberation Army, for "two H200 chips" that cost for 874,700 yuan ($123,000). They were purchased for its management school from Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology, not directly from Nvidia. 

Other procurement records show the university "also bought access this year to H200 chips and other powerful Nvidia AI processors through five contracts for rented computing capacity from Chinese companies," Reuters said.

"Northwestern is a member of the 'Seven Sons of National Defense' group of Chinese universities under U.S. sanctions and ⁠with a history of conducting defence-related research for Beijing," and the export-blacklisted H200 chips are "normally denied for blacklisted institutions such as Northwestern Polytechnical" despite the Trump administration allowing some exports "on a case-by-case basis in January," Reuters said.

Northwestern Polytechnical, Nvidia and the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security didn't answer Reuters' queries, the newswire said.