China has launched a massive customs campaign against imports of Nvidia chips, aiming to wean local tech companies off American products for AI, the Financial Times reported.

In recent weeks, teams of customs officers have been deployed to major Chinese ports to conduct rigorous inspections of shipments of semiconductors, three sources familiar with the matter said. The inspections are aimed at ensuring that local companies stop ordering Nvidia chips specifically tailored for China, which regulators have previously advised against buying.

Nvidia’s H20 and RTX Pro 6000D processors, designed to comply with U.S. export restrictions, have come under special scrutiny. This has allowed the Silicon Valley company to maintain market share in China, but Beijing is now trying to block such supply channels.

The sources said the inspections have recently been expanded to cover all advanced semiconductor products to better combat the smuggling of high-tech chips that violate US export restrictions. Previously, Chinese customs did not interfere with imports of microchips if the proper duties were paid at the border.

At least $1 billion worth of Nvidia AI chips were smuggled into China in the three months since May, the FT reported. The border crackdown is a sign of Beijing’s determination to ensure technological independence from the US and to play a more active role in the global AI race.

China also plans to support its own chipmakers to catch up with rivals in terms of productivity and production capacity. In addition to tightening border controls, some customs officials are checking whether companies have filed false declarations on imports of advanced semiconductor products, two people familiar with the matter told the FT.

This move demonstrates Beijing's desire to reduce the technology sector's dependence on American products while developing its own resources to ensure strategic autonomy in the field of high technology.