Against the backdrop of escalating US–China tech tensions, China’s Cyberspace Administration (CAC) on 17 September 2025 ordered major tech firms including ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu to stop testing and procuring Nvidia’s RTX Pro 6000D AI chip, a GPU product designed specifically for the Chinese market. According to an exclusive Financial Times report on 17 September, the move signals Beijing’s push to accelerate self‑sufficiency in domestic AI chips and could reduce Nvidia’s China revenue to "zero"; China previously accounted for 10–15% of Nvidia’s global revenue (about $20 billion). At the same time, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has placed Nvidia under an antitrust investigation, accusing its 2020 acquisition of Mellanox of possible violations of China’s Anti‑Monopoly Law, further compounding Nvidia’s troubles in China. The Wall Street Journal and CNBC confirmed that the CAC directive stems from a national security review aimed at reducing reliance on US technology, and is expected to accelerate adoption of domestic chips such as Huawei’s Ascend and Cambricon. The episode not only deals a heavy blow to Nvidia’s supply chain but may reshape the global AI chip market, underscoring the far‑reaching impact of geopolitics on the tech industry.
Ban background: The RTX Pro 6000D’s "China dream" collapses
The RTX Pro 6000D was Nvidia’s so‑called compliance version launched in July 2025 during CEO Jensen Huang’s visit to China, reportedly designed to circumvent US export controls. The chip is based on the Blackwell architecture but with constrained performance: 1.4 TB/s memory bandwidth (below export limits), no NVLink interconnect and reliance on PCIe, making it difficult to support large‑scale model inference and tasks such as training Llama 3.1. Chinese firms including ByteDance and Alibaba had planned to buy tens of thousands of units for automated manufacturing, cloud services and AI model training, but the CAC directive required immediate cancellation of orders and tests. FT cited insiders saying the instruction covered a wide range of companies; Tencent and Baidu also paused related validations and suppliers halted shipments. WIRED reported that the CAC urged firms to switch to domestic chips like Huawei’s Ascend 910B and Cambricon’s Siyuan 370 to ensure "data security and autonomous control." Jensen Huang told CNBC on 17 September: "We respect Chinese policy, but are disappointed by geopolitical interference." Tom’s Hardware analyzed that the RTX Pro 6000D was shunned for "insufficient performance and high price," with buyers reportedly turning to gray‑market RTX 5090 units (claimed double the performance at about half the price).
Antitrust probe: Mellanox acquisition triggers a new storm
China’s decision to put Nvidia on an antitrust investigation list is a critical element in this story. Fox Business reported on 15 September that SAMR accuses Nvidia’s $6.9 billion 2020 acquisition of Mellanox Technologies of strengthening its dominance in data‑center interconnect technology and potentially violating Article 22 of China’s Anti‑Monopoly Law (abuse of market dominance). Mellanox’s InfiniBand technology is central to AI data centers with a global market share above 70%, and China says the acquisition reduced competitive opportunities for local players such as Huawei. Bloomberg reported SAMR could impose a fine up to 10% of sales (roughly $2 billion) or require divestiture of parts of Mellanox’s technology. Omdia chief analyst Lian Jye Su said: "China’s move is a strategic response to US export controls intended to weaken Nvidia’s influence in China." FT noted the probe runs in parallel with recent US blacklisting of 23 Chinese companies, highlighting an escalation in the US–China tech battle. Benzinga suggested the investigation may force Nvidia to adjust its China operations or even face technology‑transfer demands.
US–China AI chip war: Domestic substitution accelerates
The CAC ban and the antitrust probe reflect China’s broader domestic‑substitution strategy. Since 2022 the US Commerce Department has restricted Nvidia’s exports of high‑end GPUs such as the H100 and A100, prompting Nvidia to offer performance‑limited variants like the H20 and the RTX Pro 6000D. China, through initiatives such as "Made in China 2025," is accelerating local chip development. Huawei’s Ascend 910B (INT8 320 TFLOPS) and Cambricon’s Siyuan 370 have approached H20 performance and are said to meet roughly 70% of AI training requirements. The Wall Street Journal reported ByteDance has already purchased thousands of Ascend 910B units, and Alibaba Cloud plans to raise its share of domestic GPUs to 80% by 2026. CoinCentral noted the ban affects both AI and cryptocurrency sectors—high‑performance GPUs are central to large‑model training and mining—and while gray markets may temporarily fill gaps, they pose long‑term risks. Analysts estimate the ban could raise short‑term AI training costs in China by about 20% but ultimately favor China’s carbon and tech self‑reliance goals.
Nvidia’s impact and response
Nvidia faces severe disruption in China. In fiscal 2024 China contributed about 15% of Nvidia’s revenue (around $20 billion), and the RTX Pro 6000D was intended to recapture part of that market. Prior to this, some Chinese vendors had already refused to buy Nvidia’s limited H20 chips. Following the latest directive, Nvidia’s shares fell about 2.5% intraday on 17 September, wiping roughly $50 billion off its market value. The New York Times reported Nvidia plans to shift focus to Southeast Asia and Europe, but the risk of a near‑zero China market could drag 2025 fiscal‑year growth below 5%. Jensen Huang said: "We will continue to develop compliant products, but geopolitics complicates the market." Analysts warned that proliferation of gray‑market RTX 5090 units could further erode Nvidia’s compliance‑based strategy.
Global impact: Supply‑chain shock and localization wave
The CAC directive creates opportunities for China’s AI ecosystem. The order is expected to boost domestic GPU market share to about 60% by 2026. Huawei has reportedly secured large orders, and Cambricon and Haiguang Information are ramping production; Alibaba and Baidu are accelerating in‑house AI chip development. However, challenges remain: the domestic chip ecosystem is immature, software compatibility must improve, and alternatives to CUDA are still under development. The global semiconductor industry is also affected: EU and Japanese companies worry about supply disruptions, and Nvidia’s difficulties could trigger a broader "chip winter." Analysts at Finanznachrichten estimate AI training costs in China will rise about 20% in the short term, but domestic vendors are likely to fill the gap. On X, a post by @zijing_wu drew 190,000 views, fueling discussion about an intensifying US–China AI arms race.
Outlook: A geopolitical contest that calls for dialogue
The CAC ban and the antitrust probe mark a new peak in the US–China tech confrontation. Experts call for renewed dialogue: an Economist commentator wrote, "There are no winners in technological decoupling; negotiations must resume." The rise of China’s domestic chips could reshape the AI hardware landscape, forcing Nvidia to redefine its China strategy. The ban not only signals the collapse of Nvidia’s "China dream" but also introduces a new variable for the global AI ecosystem; the tech community will be watching closely.
Sources:
- Financial Times: "China tells tech giants to stop testing Nvidia’s new AI chip" (2025‑09‑17).
- Tom’s Hardware: "Nvidia’s new RTX Pro 6000D for China deemed 'pointless' as companies turn to RTX 5090" (2025‑09‑17).
- Finanznachrichten: "China’s Nvidia ban shakes global AI chip market" (2025‑09‑17).
- Ars Technica: "China’s new Nvidia ban escalates tech war" (2025‑09‑17).
- CNBC: "Nvidia’s Jensen Huang responds to China’s AI chip ban" (2025‑09‑17).
- WIRED: "China’s AI chip push leaves Nvidia in the dust" (2025‑09‑17).
- Benzinga: "Nvidia faces China’s antitrust probe over Mellanox acquisition" (2025‑09‑17).
- Bloomberg: "China’s Nvidia ban boosts local chipmakers" (2025‑09‑17).
- The Week: "China’s tech giants pivot to domestic AI chips" (2025‑09‑17).
- Fox Business: "China targets Nvidia with antitrust investigation" (2025‑09‑15).