The findings come as Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and its CEO Jensen Huang face mounting scrutiny in Washington over his lobbying for looser restrictions on sales of AI chips to China, following reports alleging he was targeted by a Chinese spying operation.

Huang has argued that continued US sales to China would preserve American technological leadership and keep Chinese customers reliant on US technology. But some US lawmakers say access to Nvidia's most powerful AI chips can speed China's development of AI systems for weapons design, intelligence analysis and military modernisation.

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress have urged stronger controls on China's access to advanced AI chips, such ?as chip-tracking requirements and greater congressional oversight of exports. Three Republican congressional committee chairmen have requested a briefing with Huang on November 18 over his reported contacts with an alleged Chinese intelligence operative.

Northwestern Polytechnical University bought two H200 chips ?last month for 874,700 yuan ($123,000), according to an October 21 procurement record on its website.

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.

The chips were purchased for its management school from Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology rather than directly from Nvidia, the record shows.

The H200 is among Nvidia's most capable chips for training and running advanced AI systems ?and is subject to US export licence approvals, which are normally denied for blacklisted institutions such as Northwestern Polytechnical.

Northwestern Polytechnical also bought access this year to H200 chips and other powerful Nvidia AI processors through five contracts for rented computing capacity from Chinese companies, ?procurement records show.

Reuters is reporting the chip purchases and computing contracts for the first time. Northwestern Polytechnical, Nvidia and the US Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees export controls, did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters could not determine contact details for Shaanxi Bosuan Network Technology.

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Based in the northwestern city of Xian, Northwestern Polytechnical conducts research related to military aircraft, missiles and satellites.