China issues port crackdown on all Nvidia AI chip imports, says report — enforcement teams deployed to quash smuggling and investigate data center hardware, targeting H20 and RTX 6000D shipments

Chinese customs authorities have launched a sweeping crackdown on Nvidia chip shipments, according to reporting by The Financial Times published October 9. The report says enforcement teams have been deployed at major ports to inspect data-center hardware, with a specific focus on Nvidia’s H20 and RTX 6000D — chips designed to comply with U.S. export controls but now under fresh scrutiny from Beijing.

The inspections, which began in recent weeks, are reportedly being coordinated by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), with assistance from customs officials. The campaign initially targeted the H20 and RTX 6000D, but has since broadened to include “all advanced semiconductor products.” The FT says that officials are focused on stopping smuggled U.S. chips from reaching domestic data centers. Nvidia declined to comment when contacted by Tom’s Hardware.

China’s pressure on the H20 is especially notable. Announced last year as a tailored workaround to avoid falling afoul of Washington’s updated export rules, the H20 had only recently begun shipping in volume to Chinese server OEMs. Given that the likes of ByteDance and Alibaba were reportedly told in mid-September to halt further H20 orders, some or all of those shipments will now undoubtedly be held up or blocked indefinitely.

These inspections are likely to hit China’s gray and refurbishment market, which has leaned on repurposed A100 and H100 boards as H20 access tightened, with underground repair shops servicing hundreds of accelerators each month. The Financial Times previously reported at least a billion dollars’ worth of high-end Nvidia processors entering the country in the three months after tighter U.S. rules, often through indirect routes. A customs sweep could directly target that pipeline.

At the same time, China’s homegrown roadmap is real but uneven. China’s decision to begin cracking down on imports might reflect a growing confidence in its domestic hardware, but while domestic accelerators are ramping up at Chinese fabs, bottlenecks exist in HBM supply and overall fab capacity. This suggests near-term friction for data-center operators with more delays for inbound H20 RTX 6000D shipments on one side — that may well never reach them — and slower-than-hoped rollouts of homegrown silicon on the other.

The H20’s own status also remains unsettled. Nvidia has told some suppliers to pause H20-related work amid changing rules, while exploring a successor that would comply with U.S. controls. If that successor slips or ships in limited volume, the practical effect of China’s crackdown will be felt twice over, with fewer legal Nvidia pathways and a harder environment for gray-market cards.

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