Jensen Huang, Nvidia's chief executive officer, exuded warmth and optimism on his third China visit in about six months. Leading a company recently valued at $4 trillion, Huang was notably cheerful on Wednesday, expecting Nvidia to restart sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips in China after a three-month halt. "Many of my competitors are my friends," he said, as reported by CNBC.
He suggested that Nvidia's chip sales approval was tied to a US-China agreement on rare earths. Dressed in his trademark black leather jacket, Huang arrived early at the Mandarin Oriental hotel's sunny courtyard in Beijing, answering reporters' questions in nearly 90-degree Fahrenheit heat. "Only in China can we do this out in the sun!" he declared. He soon realized the press conference was intended for an air-conditioned indoor setting. "What are we doing out here? Why didn't somebody say so?" he quipped. Local reporters swarmed, seeking autographs on books and T-shirts, to which he responded, "Who needs an autograph? I'll do it while I'm listening."
Whom he met
Huang described a "wonderful meeting" with Vice Premier He Lifeng, noting their discussions avoided China's battery technology or rare earth restrictions. Earlier, he met Xiaomi's founder and chief executive officer Lei Jun, whom he praised as "a brilliant business person." Their talks covered artificial intelligence for large language models, autonomous driving, and robotics, with Huang noting Xiaomi's use of Nvidia's automotive chips in electric vehicles. Huang shared that he informed US President Donald Trump of his China trip during a White House meeting celebrating Nvidia's $4 trillion valuation. "Have a great trip," Trump told him, Huang recounted.
Export controls
Nvidia announced Tuesday that it anticipates resuming H20 chip shipments to China soon, following US government assurances, after new US rules paused sales in April. "In terms of the H20 ban and the lifting of the ban, it was completely in control of the US government and China government. The discussion has nothing to do with me," Huang said, per CNBC, dismissing any role in swaying Trump's stance. "It's my job to inform the president about what I know very well, which is the technology industry, artificial intelligence, the developments of AI around the world," he explained. Huang emphasized Nvidia's compliance with final policy decisions and its need to adapt to tariffs.
What's next for Nvidia in China
Huang stated in May that US chip restrictions slashed Nvidia's China market share by nearly half. US export controls cost Nvidia $2.5 billion in lost sales in the April quarter, with an expected $8 billion hit in the July quarter, forecasting $45 billion in sales. Since 2022, the US has barred Nvidia from selling its most advanced chips to China. "I hope to get more advanced chips into China than the H20," Huang told CNBC, "and the reason for that is because technology is always moving on. It's not like wood." He highlighted that future chips allowed in China will improve over time. Huang declined to specify order numbers or exact timelines for resuming sales, noting the H20's adequacy for AI model training despite its limitations. He added that the US is still processing export licenses, and restarting the supply chain may take nine months.
Huawei
Huang commented on Huawei, a Chinese competitor impacted by earlier US sanctions. "Anyone who discounts Huawei and anyone who discounts China's manufacturing capability is deeply naïve," he said, praising Huawei's "excellent chip design" and self-sufficient cloud system. "They can go to market all by themselves," he asserted. Huawei's AI relies on its Ascend chips and CANN system, an alternative to Nvidia's CUDA, supported by its CloudMatrix AI cloud system launched last year. On developer challenges with Huawei's systems, Huang said, "That's just a matter of time." He contrasted his 30-year industry experience with Huawei's shorter tenure, noting, "the fact they're already on the dance floor tells you something about how formidable they are."
China's AI
At a Beijing supply chain expo on Wednesday morning, Huang lauded Chinese AI models. "The Chinese models, DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi, are excellent," he said, citing models from a Chinese startup, Alibaba, and Moonshot, an Alibaba-backed startup. "I think over time it will be increasingly less important which one of the models are the smartest," he noted. "It's going to be which one of the models are the most useful." In January, DeepSeek, developed by High-Flyer, stunned investors with a cost-efficient AI model despite US chip curbs, reportedly by stockpiling Nvidia chips. Huang valued the open-source nature of models like DeepSeek R1, enabling free downloads for local use in healthcare, robotics, imaging, and more, with "99%" of users leveraging it for such purposes. As the press conference ended, a reporter asked if Huang would return to China this year. "I hope so. You have to invite me," he responded.
