China’s Cyberspace Administration has urged major tech companies not to purchase Nvidia’s RTX Pro 6000D chip designed for industrial AI applications, effectively blacklisting the product as U.S.-China technology tensions intensify.

The guidance represents Beijing’s latest action targeting Nvidia, following earlier directives against the company’s H20 chip and an antitrust investigation into a 2020 acquisition.

Nvidia shares closed down 2.6% Wednesday on the news.

The RTX Pro 6000D, announced by CEO Jensen Huang during a July Beijing visit, was specifically designed to comply with U.S. export controls while serving Chinese customers.

By rejecting even these less-advanced chips, China signals it wants access to cutting-edge technology, not what it views as inferior alternatives.

“I’m disappointed with what I see, but they have larger agendas to work out, between China and the United States,” Huang said in London Wednesday, adding that Nvidia can only serve markets where countries want them.

Chinese engineers at major tech firms reported unimpressive initial testing results for the RTX Pro 6000D, noting they could easily access older but still useful Nvidia RTX products, including some controlled by export rules.

Chinese government agencies have recently surveyed tech companies to assess the gap between Nvidia’s offerings and domestic alternatives.

State television showed Premier Li Qiang visiting a data centre where slides compared Chinese chips from companies like Alibaba favourably against Nvidia’s H20 and A800 models.

State-owned China Unicom has deployed approximately 23,000 Chinese AI chips in a computing facility, while longtime Nvidia customers including Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent have increased domestic chip usage to fill gaps left by U.S. restrictions.

Despite promoting domestic alternatives, China faces significant challenges ramping up production of advanced chips, partly due to U.S. blocks on leading-edge components and chip-making equipment.

This quantity problem undermines China’s ability to fully replace Nvidia’s technology.

“The market is competitive, we offer the best products we can,” an Nvidia representative said in response to the developments.

The chip dispute occurs amid wider trade negotiations.

While Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese counterparts reached a framework deal on TikTok this week in Madrid, Beijing continues pressing for access to advanced AI and semiconductor technologies.

“The U.S. side cannot, on the one hand, ask China to take care of U.S. concerns, and on the other hand, continuously suppress Chinese enterprises,” China’s trade representative Li Chenggang told reporters in Madrid.

A People’s Daily commentary Wednesday reiterated Beijing’s frustration with U.S. export controls and restrictions on Chinese companies.

Analysts increasingly predict Nvidia won’t generate revenue from the RTX Pro 6000D, H20, or other planned China offerings this year.

For Australian investors, Nvidia’s challenges in China, historically representing about 20% of revenue, raise concerns about growth prospects for the $4.8 trillion (USD $3.2 trillion) company.

The dispute highlights how geopolitical tensions are fragmenting the global semiconductor market.

Australian companies relying on AI infrastructure face potential supply chain complications as the U.S.-China technology divide deepens.

Chinese officials appear unsettled by Huang’s reported argument to President Trump that Nvidia’s technology sales would keep China dependent on U.S. systems.

By rejecting even export-compliant chips, Beijing demonstrates willingness to sacrifice immediate technological capabilities to avoid perceived dependency.

The guidance against the RTX Pro 6000D suggests China views these disputes as extending beyond commercial considerations to questions of technological sovereignty and strategic autonomy in AI development.