Despite tightened export controls introduced under former U.S. President Donald Trump, at least $1 billion worth of Nvidia’s advanced artificial intelligence chips have been shipped to China over the past three months. An investigation by the Financial Times (FT) reveals that Washington’s attempts to limit technology exports have not been fully effective in curbing Beijing’s high-tech ambitions.
According to documents and contracts reviewed by the FT, the Nvidia B200 — a cutting-edge AI processor used by companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta — has become one of the most sought-after products on China’s black market. The export of this chip to China is strictly banned by the U.S. government.
How the Illicit Trade Operates
FT's findings indicate that distributors operating in China’s Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces have been supplying the B200 chip, along with other restricted models such as the H100 and H200, to local data center providers through illicit channels. Although the products officially enter China with customs duties paid, their export from the United States is in direct violation of U.S. laws.
Nvidia, in response, has denied any involvement or knowledge of the illegal shipments, stating:
“Building data centers with smuggled products is a losing proposition, both technically and economically. Support and service are only provided to authorized Nvidia products.”
At the Center of the Black Market: ‘Gate of the Era’
One of the key players in this black market, according to the FT, is a company named “Gate of the Era”, based in China’s Anhui province. The company was founded in February 2024, at a time when speculation about a possible export ban on Nvidia’s H20 chip to China was growing.
The company sells the B200 chips in the form of preassembled racks—each containing eight chips along with all necessary hardware and software—ready for integration into data centers. These racks are priced between 3 to 3.5 million yuan (approximately $489,000), around 50% more than comparable products sold in the U.S. market.
According to FT’s investigation, Gate of the Era has conducted sales worth over $400 million in recent months.
Product Origin: Supermicro’s Involvement Questioned
FT also discovered that many of the racks sold by Gate of the Era were originally manufactured by Supermicro, a U.S.-based company. However, Supermicro has firmly denied any involvement, stating that it complies with all U.S. export control regulations and is unaware of its products being diverted to China.
"Smart China" Vision and Questionable Partnerships
Gate of the Era’s majority shareholder is “China Century” (Huajiyuan), an AI solutions provider based in Shanghai. The company’s website lists major tech players such as AliCloud, ByteDance, and Baidu Cloud as its partners. However, after FT contacted the involved parties, ByteDance's Huoshan Cloud was removed from the partner list.
China Century stated that it has no involvement in the procurement or trade of Nvidia chips and focuses solely on smart city solutions:
“We are only engaged in smart city development projects,” the company told FT.
This case casts serious doubt on the effectiveness of U.S. technology export restrictions. Rather than halting the flow of advanced semiconductors into China, the measures appear to have fueled a booming black market. It also highlights how global underground networks continue to operate efficiently despite increasing geopolitical controls.
