China says it has banned its leading tech firms from purchasing Nvidia chips as the country seeks to boost its domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
The ban follows a recent antitrust accusation by China targeting Nvidia’s H20 chip, another model explicitly made for the Chinese market. It also coincides with the conclusion of U.S.-China trade talks in Madrid, which included plans for private operators to take over TikTok’s US operations, leaving ByteDance with a minority stake.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the country’s internet regulator, instructed companies including ByteDance, TikTok’s parent, and e-commerce giant Alibaba to halt testing for an AI chip Nvidia designed specifically for the Chinese market. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang expressed disappointment over the move.
“We will continue to be supportive of the Chinese government and Chinese companies as they wish,” Huang said at a news conference in London.
Several firms had planned to order tens of thousands of RTX Pro 6000D chips and had already begun testing and verification with Nvidia’s server suppliers. However, demand for the chip in China was limited, as major tech giants opted not to integrate it into their products, according to Reuters.
The move highlights growing tensions between the US and China in technology, as successive US administrations restrict China’s access to advanced chips. Beijing is now pushing domestic firms to prioritize local suppliers, a shift that could reshape the global semiconductor market and challenge major players like Nvidia.
