The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s top internet regulator, has reportedly banned its biggest tech companies, including ByteDance and Alibaba, from buying Nvidia’s AI chips. According to the Financial Times, the CAC said that these institutions should stop testing the new RTX Pro 6000D and cancel their orders, even though several companies had already indicated their interest in purchasing tens of thousands of these GPUs, which were set to replace the H20 after it was banned (but before it was unbanned again). This goes against the initial reports that reception for the more affordable AI China-specific GPU was lukewarm — instead, it turns out that the central government was blocking the purchase of these graphics cards. This new ban comes just weeks after companies were directed to stop ordering Nvidia H20 chips, too.
Beijing reportedly believes that homegrown AI chip makers, like Huawei and Cambricon, now produce chips that have comparable performance to Nvidia’s China-only products. And although Team Green might still have an advantage with its software stack, other Chinese tech giants like Tencent are pushing to build their own infrastructure to replace that. Because of these developments, China’s chip makers are ramping production in anticipation of the glut of orders coming from companies that need AI chips but can’t purchase Nvidia products.
When approached for comment, Nvidia directed us to remarks made by CEO Jensen Huang in London on Wednesday morning. “We can only be in service of a market if the country wants us to be,” adding, “I’m disappointed with what I see. But they have larger agendas to work out, between China and the US, and I’m understanding of that. We are patient about it. We’ll continue to be supportive of the Chinese government and Chinese companies as they wish.” Huang told reporters in London on Wednesday that he hopes to discuss Nvidia’s ability to do business in China with President Trump during the latter’s state visit to the UK.
On the other hand, some Chinese industry leaders believe that this move is part of the central government’s effort to break free from American technology and boost its homegrown semiconductor industry. “The message is now loud and clear,” one executive told the Financial Times. “Earlier, people had hopes of renewed Nvidia supply if the geopolitical situation improves. Now it’s all hands on deck to build the domestic system.”
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