Chinese customs officials have been sent to major ports to conduct strict checks on semiconductor shipments, according to a report in the Financial Times. The newspaper said on Friday that the inspections initially targeted Nvidia H20 and RTX Pro 6000D chipsets designed to comply with US export controls.
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The report stated that the scope of examinations has been expanded to include all advanced semiconductor products that violate US export restrictions. Chinese customs officials did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while an Nvidia spokesman declined to comment on the report.
China’s access to world-leading Nvidia chips has been a major point of contention between the United States and China. In August, US President Donald Trump indicated the possibility of allowing Nvidia to sell more advanced chips in China.
An earlier Financial Times report indicated that at least $1 billion worth of Nvidia’s top AI chips were smuggled and sold in China in the three months of May. Authorities in China have previously accused Nvidia of violating antitrust law, and in September ordered major tech companies to halt purchases of AI chips from Nvidia and cancel existing orders, according to the Financial Times.
Reuters reported last month that Nvidia has a new AI chip, the RTX6000D, designed specifically for the Chinese market, but it has seen only tepid demand with some major tech companies choosing not to place orders. Despite the progress Huawei and other Chinese chip companies have made in recent years, people involved in engineering operations at Chinese technology companies say Nvidia’s chips are performing better.
Source: Market intelligence platform IndexBox
