A sophisticated GPU smuggling network diverts NVIDIA's advanced AI chips to China despite strict US export controls, with brokers operating openly across Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Industry insiders acknowledge the illicit trade is widespread and profitable, with China estimated to have access to 2.8 million H100-equivalent GPUs through smuggling, legal purchases, and domestic production. US enforcement efforts, including a 2026 arrest of Supermicro's co-founder, have failed to disrupt the flow of chips critical to AI development and national security.