Chinese authorities have begun a broad control operation on Nvidia's AI chip shipments, as The Financial Times reported on October 9. Inspections are taking place at the country's major ports to verify shipments of data center hardware, with particular emphasis on the H20 and RTX 6000D models designed to comply with United States export restrictions.
This measure, coordinated by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) together with the customs service, aims to detect smuggling and curb the irregular entry of American chips into the Chinese market. According to reports, what began as selective control over the H20 and RTX 6000D has been expanded to cover all advanced semiconductor products.
The Nvidia H20 was announced in late 2024 as an adaptation for the Chinese market, avoiding infringing Washington's trade sanctions. It became a valuable option for tech giants like ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent, interested in continuing their AI projects. However, these customers have received orders to suspend new purchases of H2O, and the existing shipments are being held indefinitely at key ports such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. Nvidia has declined to comment on the situation.
The Chinese offensive pursues a dual objective: to prevent the smuggling of American chips that arrive via intermediaries and to promote local production of AI accelerators, aligning with the government's strategy of technological self-sufficiency. Sources close to the CAC report that the aim is to ensure that critical infrastructures do not depend on unauthorized foreign hardware, while also evaluating the technical documentation to comply with cybersecurity standards.
This move comes in a context of growing tension between the United States and China over control of AI and semiconductors. Washington's sanctions led Nvidia to develop a 'trimmed' range for China; however, Beijing's patience has run out. Analysts perceive this decision as a political and strategic response, suggesting that China could be using inspections as leverage while accelerating the development of its domestic GPUs.
Despite advances in chip design, Chinese manufacturers face bottlenecks such as the lack of high-density HBM memory, dependence on advanced lithography equipment, and the limited capacity of their foundries. This places data center operators in an awkward position, with chip shipments stalled and national alternatives not yet reaching the power of Nvidia or AMD.
For Nvidia, the Chinese market accounts for 20% to 25% of its data center chip revenues. Each new restriction, whether from Washington or Beijing, complicates its position and erodes its growth margins. China's customs control is interpreted as a signal of partial confidence in substituting foreign hardware, but also as a systemic risk to the global technology supply chain.
With the United States tightening the limits on the export of AI technology and China closing its ports to imported chips, the sector could head toward a scenario of technological fragmentation, where each economic bloc seeks to establish its own semiconductor ecosystem.
More information and references in Cloud News.
