Nvidia’s RTX 5090 D graphics card appears to be banned in China
Nvidia has reportedly halted orders for their RTX 5090 D graphics card, effectively banning the graphics card in China
US export restrictions limit the performance of AI hardware that companies can ship to China, preventing powerful AI hardware from entering the nation (at least officially). Over the past few years, Nvidia has done what it can to skirt these restrictions, creating China-specific SKUs that maximise the performance that they can legally ship to the region. Now, Nvidia appears to have cancelled orders for its RTX 5090 D GPU, a China-specific version of its banned RTX 5090 graphics card.
Nvidia’s RTX 5090 D is a GPU that is mostly identical to Nvidia’s RTX 5090, with the only difference being its AI performance. Nvidia limited specific performance metrics of their China-only GPU to allow them to sell the GPU in China. Now, it looks like tightening restrictions may be preventing its sale.
A report from Board Partners, via @9550pro, has claimed that Nvidia will not be shipping RTX 5090 D GPUs in Q2. Last month, the US banned the export of Nvidia’s H20 AI GPU to China. This was another GPU that was created to comply with US export rules.
NV RTX5090D Q2å£åº¦ç¡®å®šç¦å”®ä¸å›½å¸‚场https://t.co/w3poTpaQVH
— HXL (@9550pro) May 6, 2025
Over the years, Nvidia has consistently pushed the limits of US export restrictions with China-exclusive GPU models. This will not be the first time the US has had to alter its export restrictions to ban Nvidia’s rules-skirting AI hardware. If history is anything to go by, the company will have another rules-skirting China-only GPU ready to ship in the coming months. After all, the Chinese market is hugely valuable for Nvidia.
NVIDIA RTX5090D series models are basically confirmed that there will be no GPU available in Q2, which means that RTX5090D cannot be sold to the Chinese market, and graphics card brands will not be able to receive GPU orders. NV has basically confirmed that RTX5090D series GPUs will not be able to receive orders in Q2. All orders for 5090D chips that have been placed and undelivered POs have been temporarily canceled, which is equivalent to the RTX5090D being officially banned from sale.
Nvidia wants the US to slacken its AI export restrictions
Nvidia has been pushing the US government to reduce its restrictions on AI exports to China. Their argument is that doing so would allow Nvidia to flood the Chinese market. In theory, this would harm Nvidia’s Chinese competitors, reducing China’s strength in the AI market. In other words, Nvidia is arguing that it can kill Huawei’s AI ambitions.
Honestly, Nvidia wants to freely ship its GPUs to China. China is a huge market, and Nvidia could gain a lot of sales for its expensive AI hardware. This would create additional demand for Nvidia’s AI chips, which would likely allow Nvidia to raise its prices. Gaining full access to China is a massive win for Nvidia. Whether or not it’s in the best interest of the US is debatable.
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