China bans Nvidia RTX 5090D V2 while Jensen Huang visits Beijing with Trump delegation

China Ban Hits Nvidia During High-Stakes Diplomatic Visit

Beijing banned Nvidia's RTX 5090D V2 gaming chip on Friday, May 15, while the company's CEO Jensen Huang was in town as part of President Donald Trump's state visit to China 1

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. The chip was added to a list of banned goods at China's customs checkpoints, according to a document seen by the Financial Times and confirmed by two sources with knowledge of the matter 2

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. Huang had joined the delegation at the last minute, boarding Air Force One in Alaska after initially not being included on the President's guest list 4

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The timing of the China ban appears calculated to send a clear message during the diplomatic summit. Huang was seen touring the Chinese capital and eating local delicacies outside the official proceedings, yet the restriction landed while he remained in Beijing 1

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. The move highlights Beijing's determination to keep out Nvidia's chips, especially degraded versions made to comply with US export controls 1

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The Export-Friendly GPU Caught in Trade Crossfire

The Nvidia RTX 5090D V2, introduced last August, was specifically designed to comply with US export controls 1

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. This export-friendly GPU features less VRAM and lower bandwidth compared to the standard RTX 5090, targeting Chinese gamers and 3D artists 2

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. However, AI developers cut off from Nvidia's more potent Blackwell-powered AI GPUs and advanced processors like the H100 had been using the gaming chip as a workaround for training and inference workloads 4

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According to industry sources, customs authorities informed companies that import permits for the graphics card would not be approved, effectively preventing official shipments from entering the country 5

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. The sudden customs decision reportedly caught Nvidia off guard, as the RTX 5090D V2 was created specifically for China and cannot easily be redirected to other markets without modification 5

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Beijing Pushes AI Tech Companies to Use Homegrown Chips

The China ban on Nvidia's gaming chip reflects Beijing's broader strategy to support domestic chipmakers as they compete with US rivals in the US-China AI race 1

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. The Chinese government wants to bolster companies like Huawei and Cambricon as part of China's domestic AI chip industry 1

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. Sales of other Nvidia chips including the H200 and the H20, another China-specific product, have been blocked by Beijing even though the Trump administration approved sales to Chinese tech groups such as Alibaba and Tencent 1

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Huawei is set to capture the largest share of China's AI chip market this year, with sales jumping by at least 60 percent amid strong demand from Chinese companies seeking domestic alternatives to Nvidia 1

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. Beijing's instructions to its largest AI companies direct them to stop acquiring Nvidia processors, including the H20 and RTX Pro 6000D, claiming that Huawei's Ascend line and Cambricon's Siyuan AI accelerators now match those products on relevant workloads 4

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Market Implications for Semiconductor Trade

Morgan Stanley forecasts that China's AI chip market will reach $67 billion in 2030, with 86 percent expected to be supplied by Chinese groups 1

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. The US bank estimates the market to be worth about $21 billion this year from domestic suppliers 1

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. China's AI chip sector was previously dominated by Nvidia, which sold products worth just over $17 billion—mostly H20 chips—in the Chinese market in the 2025 financial year 1

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The 5090D V2 ban represents the first visible enforcement step Beijing has taken since the Trump-Xi summit on AI guardrails ended 4

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. On the commercial impact, Nvidia guided to $91 billion of Q2 revenue against an $86.84 billion consensus, with prepared remarks framing the China line as "small but material" 4

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. The RTX 5090D V2 represents a low-single-digit percentage of Nvidia's quarterly revenue base, but the signaling value carries more weight in semiconductor trade dynamics 4

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Competing Perspectives on AI Hardware Access

China blocks NVIDIA's RTX 5090D V2 imports while Trump and Jensen Huang were still in town, paired with continuing restrictions on H200 chips, may signal to the US that Beijing doesn't need degraded AI chips 2

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. This concerns the Nvidia chief, who worries that if Chinese AI firms abandon the American tech stack, the US will lose its hardware advantage in the AI race 2

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Others argue that US rivals shouldn't access latest technologies that could close America's technological edge in defense and military applications 2

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. Despite the tensions, Jensen Huang remains optimistic about future market access. "My sense is that over time, the market will open," he told Bloomberg TV 1

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. Trump stated on Air Force One that China "chose not to" approve H200 chip purchases because "they want to develop their own" 1

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. The next proof point will be Nvidia's Q2 earnings disclosure of China-specific revenue, scheduled for August, when the ban's contribution becomes formally visible 4

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