China Eases Restrictions on Nvidia Chip Sales to Alibaba and ByteDance

China's government may lift restrictions on Nvidia's new RTX Pro 5500 chip sales to companies like Alibaba and ByteDance, according to a report. The tech ministry recently asked firms about their plans to purchase the chip and its intended use.

Nvidia's sales in China have been limited due to US export controls and Beijing's curbs on supporting local chipmakers. However, this month's clearance of Nvidia's H200 chips for Chinese firms may signal a change in policy.

The RTX Pro 5500 is a workstation graphics card built on Nvidia's Blackwell design with 84GB of memory. It remains to be seen whether the sale of this chip will be approved, but it could mark a significant shift in China's stance on foreign tech companies.