China’s top internet regulator has instructed some of the country’s largest technology firms, including ByteDance and Alibaba, to stop purchasing artificial intelligence chips from U.S. semiconductor giant Nvidia, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) directed the firms this week to cancel existing orders and testing of Nvidia’s RTX Pro 6000D processors, sources familiar with the matter said. The move marks the latest escalation in the ongoing technology and trade dispute between Beijing and Washington.
At the same time, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation ruled on Monday that Nvidia had violated the nation’s antitrust laws. The case relates to Nvidia’s $7 billion acquisition of Israeli networking supplier Mellanox Technologies in 2020. Although no penalties have been announced, regulators said they would continue their investigation.
In a statement, an Nvidia spokesperson said:
“We comply with the law in all respects. We will continue to cooperate with all relevant government agencies as they evaluate the impact of export controls on competition in the commercial markets.”
The ruling and chip restrictions come as U.S. and Chinese officials are holding tariff negotiations in Madrid. While the talks are not specifically centered on semiconductors, access to Nvidia’s AI chips remains a critical sticking point between the two sides.
The Biden administration introduced its so-called “AI Diffusion Rule” in January, aimed at curbing the export of advanced U.S.-made AI chips to rivals including China. Though the Commerce Department repealed the measure in May, chip exports remain tightly controlled. The Trump administration had previously imposed licensing requirements and later struck a deal mandating that U.S. companies selling chips to China give Washington a 15% cut of revenues.
Since then, Chinese regulators have increasingly discouraged domestic firms from purchasing Nvidia hardware. During a recent earnings call, Nvidia confirmed that none of its AI chips had cleared the new export process.
The twin developments—China’s antitrust ruling and its directive against Nvidia sales—are likely to cast further uncertainty over the global semiconductor supply chain and deepen the strategic rivalry between the world’s two largest economies.
