Unapproved RTX 5090 Shipments Surface in China, Raising Concerns Over Export Controls
Beijing – Pallets of unapproved NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards have reportedly appeared in China, signaling potential breaches of U.S. export controls and highlighting the challenges of regulating advanced technology sales. The shipments, first observed by tech enthusiasts and reported by multiple sources, underscore a growing trend of parallel imports designed to circumvent restrictions aimed at limiting China’s access to cutting-edge semiconductors.
The emergence of these RTX 5090 cards-NVIDIA’s most powerful consumer graphics card-comes amid heightened U.S. efforts to curb the flow of advanced chips and related technology to China,fearing their use in military applications and artificial intelligence progress. While NVIDIA officially halted direct sales of high-end GPUs to China in late 2023 to comply with export regulations, the appearance of these cards demonstrates how complex global supply chains and intermediary markets are being exploited to bypass those controls. The situation raises questions about the effectiveness of current enforcement mechanisms and the potential for wider circumvention.
Recent financial reports reveal a important surge in NVIDIA’s sales thru Singapore, accounting for over 20% of it’s revenue this year-nearly $20 billion in the first half alone. NVIDIA maintains that 99% of data center revenue billed through Singapore originates from U.S.-based customers, suggesting a deliberate routing of sales to potentially obscure the final destination. This practice, combined with the finding of the RTX 5090 shipments, illustrates the difficulty of tracking and controlling the ultimate use of restricted technologies when profits are high and corporate structures are internationally dispersed. U.S. officials are now investigating the origin of the cards and potential violations of export laws, with further scrutiny expected on NVIDIA’s sales practices and the role of Singapore as a key transit hub.
