China bans Nvidia RTX 5090D V2 during Jensen Huang’s visit
China doesn’t want Nvidia’s nerfed RTX 5090 GPUs
China has reportedly banned Nvidia’s RTX 5090D V2 graphics card, and the ban took effect after Nvidia’s Jensen Huang visited China alongside US President Donald Trump (as reported by the Financial Times). This is the third time an RTX 5090-series GPU model has been banned in China, though this is the first ban imposed by China, not the US.
First, the US banned Nvidia’s original RTX 5090 GPU model due to its AI performance. In response, Nvidia created its RTX 5090D, which featured lowered AI performance. Later, the US also banned the RTX 5090D, forcing Nvidia to create the RTX 5090D V2. The RTX 5090D V2 features 24GB of GDDR7 memory instead of 32GB, greatly lowering the GPU’s memory capacity and bandwidth. China has now officially banned this China-specific GPU model.
According to HKEPC, China has informed companies that it will not be issuing import permits for RTX 5090D V2 GPUs. The reasoning behind this ban is currently unknown. It’s possible that China wants to force the US to allow Nvidia to ship unrestricted AI hardware in China. In other words, China doesn’t want Nvidia’s nerfed GPUs.
It has been learned that Chinese customs has notified logistics companies that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D v2 will not be issued import permits. This sudden ban has caught NVIDIA completely off guard. Since the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D v2 is a product specifically for the Chinese market, it cannot be sold in other countries.
– HKEPC
With this ban in place, Nvidia is in a difficult position. Nvidia’s RTX 5090D V2 is a China-exclusive GPU model. Without Chinese imports, these GPUs have no market. Nvidia could be forced to sell these GPUs in other markets, or not sell these GPUs at all.
Thanks to this ban, Nvidia’s RTX 5080 is now the company’s flagship GPU in China. Unless China lifts its RTX 5090D V2 ban or the US lifts its bans, Nvidia will be unable to sell higher-end GPU models within the Chinese market.
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