China signals potential approval for ByteDance and Alibaba to buy Nvidia chips

The Chinese government has signaled that it may authorize major domestic technology firms, including ByteDance and Alibaba, to purchase Nvidia’s RTX PRO 5500 high-performance chips. According to reports, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has begun inquiring about the specific procurement plans, quantities, and intended uses for these processors by leading tech companies.

The RTX PRO 5500 is a professional-grade GPU featuring Nvidia’s latest Blackwell architecture and 84 GB of memory. Industry observers suggest the chip may be designed to navigate existing United States export restrictions. This potential shift follows a period of fluctuating regulations, including previous Chinese orders to halt testing of other Nvidia models and varying levels of cooperation regarding U.S.-authorized exports.

The move comes as Chinese artificial intelligence companies face significant computational capacity shortages for running chatbots and AI agents. This development occurs amidst broader diplomatic shifts between the United States and China, following recent discussions between leaders regarding superintelligence and potential tariff reductions.