China is weighing whether to let ByteDance and Alibaba buy an Nvidia processor described in reports as new, the RTX Pro 5500, according to a report by technology publication The Information on 27 September. The report was widely picked up, including by CNBC and ChinaTechNews.

If it goes ahead, this would be a notable change of direction. Over the past year, Beijing had discouraged its largest technology companies from buying Nvidia's China-specific chips and pushed them towards domestic alternatives.

What has been reported

Based on The Information's report, as summarised by ChinaTechNews:

  • China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) asked major domestic technology companies to submit procurement plans for the RTX Pro 5500.
  • The ministry indicated it intends to authorise the purchases. Industry executives expect the chip to fall outside current US export limits.
  • ByteDance is reportedly targeting about 1 million units.
  • Nvidia reportedly planned to ship around 500,000 units a quarter from December 2026.
  • The report says demand from Chinese companies exceeds what Huawei and other domestic suppliers can currently provide.

What is not confirmed: as of publication, NDNews has not found an official statement from MIIT, Alibaba or ByteDance confirming an approval. The unit numbers come from a single report and should be treated as unverified.

An Nvidia spokesperson said, as quoted by ChinaTechNews: "US firms continue to be restricted by a combination of outdated US export controls, which cover gaming products released nearly a half a decade ago, and China's own limits on US imports."

How the standoff got here

The chip trade between the US and China has swung several times in the past year:

When What happened Source
September 2025 The Cyberspace Administration of China reportedly told companies including ByteDance and Alibaba to stop testing and ordering Nvidia's RTX Pro 6000D, a server chip designed for China Financial Times, via TechCrunch
December 2025 The US government allowed Nvidia to sell its H200 chip to China, subject to a 25% fee Tom's Hardware
January 2026 Beijing was reported to be limiting H200 purchases to "special circumstances", reportedly such as university R&D labs The Information, via Tom's Hardware
September 2026 MIIT reportedly asks firms for RTX Pro 5500 procurement plans The Information, via CNBC and ChinaTechNews

In September 2025, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang responded to the earlier restrictions: "We can only be in service of a market if a country wants us to be. I'm disappointed with what I see but they have larger agendas to work out between China and the United States," as quoted by TechCrunch.

Jensen Huang has said Nvidia's share of China's market for these chips fell from about 95% to practically zero within a few years, as reported by Tom's Hardware.

Why Beijing might change course

The report points to a practical constraint: compute shortage. Chinese companies are building and running large AI models and need far more processors than domestic suppliers can currently deliver. Allowing a limited, approved channel for a specific Nvidia product could ease that shortage while keeping the policy of building domestic capacity.

It would also give Beijing more control. A ministry-managed procurement plan lets regulators decide who buys, how much, and for what purpose, rather than leaving the choice to companies.

What it means for Asia-Pacific markets

  • Chinese cloud and AI companies. Alibaba and ByteDance would gain access to more computing power for AI services, which affects how quickly they can scale products across Asia.
  • Nvidia. China was historically a major market. Even a partial reopening would be significant, although the volumes reported have not been confirmed.
  • Domestic chipmakers. An approval would signal that domestic supply cannot yet meet demand on its own. That could shape investment decisions in China's semiconductor sector.
  • Regional supply chains. More orders for Nvidia chips flow through the manufacturing and assembly networks in the wider Asia-Pacific region. How much of that demand materialises depends on official approvals on both sides.

What to watch

  1. An official statement from MIIT or the companies confirming, or denying, approval.
  2. US export-control treatment of the RTX Pro 5500. The report says executives expect it to fall outside current limits, but this has not been confirmed by US authorities.
  3. The first shipments, reportedly planned from December 2026, and whether volumes match the reported figures.
  4. Domestic supply updates from Huawei and other Chinese chipmakers. Faster domestic output could reduce the need for imports again.

For context on how technology and trade policy are reshaping Asian economies, see our explainer on Indonesia's new single-door commodity export system.

This article was researched with AI assistance and reviewed by the NDNews editorial team. It is based on published reports as of 28 September 2026. Figures attributed to The Information have not been independently confirmed by NDNews.