China bans the import of Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090D v2 gaming graphics cards, designed exclusively for the country

China bans import of GeForce RTX 5090D v2 v2 – a reaction to U.S. export controls

New restrictions in China affect the GeForce RTX 5090D v2 graphics cards, specifically designed for the Chinese market. For a week, outlets such as *Financial Times* and *HKEPC* reported on them.

What happened
- Chinese customs authorities announced a ban on the mass import of RTX 5090D v2, even though the cards meet U.S. export control requirements.
- The country’s officials are not rushing to adopt specialized AI accelerators like the H200, which Nvidia has been actively promoting since late last year. Consequently, the RTX 5090D v2 fell under the ban for similar reasons.

Why it matters
GeForce graphics cards are often used as a more affordable alternative to specialized compute accelerators. China aims to stimulate domestic substitution in this area, so it restricts imports of equipment that could compete with local solutions.

Context and implications
The ban was imposed shortly after Nvidia founder Jensen Huang’s visit to China alongside a government delegation led by former U.S. President Donald Trump. This underscores how closely supply decisions are tied to geopolitical events.

In the face of AI accelerator shortages, those who truly need the RTX 5090D v2 will find ways to acquire it – as has happened with previous Nvidia restrictions in the Chinese market.