Big if True: In theory, Chinese IT companies are cut off from advanced accelerators needed to run AI workloads in their servers. In practice, many have still managed to secure powerful Western GPUs. That loophole is now closing, as authorities push firms to shift their focus to domestically produced chips instead.
Chinese authorities are ordering local IT companies to stop using Nvidia-made accelerators in their AI systems. According to unnamed sources cited by the Financial Times, Beijing's Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) instructed ByteDance, Alibaba, and other major technology firms to halt testing of the RTX Pro 6000D, a China-specific version of Nvidia's RTX Pro 6000 GPU.
The sources said Chinese firms were preparing to purchase tens of thousands of these cards. Many organizations had already begun testing the accelerators and working with Nvidia's suppliers to validate server configurations. The CAC directive effectively froze those plans, with companies notifying suppliers that they no longer intend to move forward.
Beijing's move amounts to a de facto ban on Nvidia AI accelerators in China, going beyond previous guidance against the H20 chips. Authorities have reportedly been in talks with domestic chipmakers such as Huawei and Cambricon, as well as with Alibaba, Baidu, and other tech firms, to assess how homegrown AI accelerators stack up against Western products.
The CAC order signals that Chinese officials now believe domestic chips are powerful enough to replace Nvidia's AI products. An industry insider told the FT that top-level authorities are convinced China's chip industry can supply sufficient high-performance accelerators to meet local demand, eliminating the need to rely on Nvidia or other foreign suppliers.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called the Chinese ban on the company's AI chips "disappointing" and said he plans to raise the issue with President Donald Trump soon. Huang acknowledged that Washington and Beijing have a much broader geopolitical agenda to discuss, meaning Nvidia may have to wait patiently for a potential resolution.
China's relationship with Nvidia's AI chip business has been fraught. In theory, the country was already restricted from purchasing the company's most powerful accelerators. In practice, a thriving "GPU repair" and gray-market business emerged to circumvent those limits. The new CAC order appears poised to shut down this parallel market as well.
China orders local tech giants to stop smuggling Nvidia GPUs into the country
