Nvidia CEO Lobbies Trump to Lift China Chip Bans

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has established a close alignment with President Donald Trump, lobbying the U.S. government to lift export restrictions on advanced AI chips to China. During an AI summit in Los Angeles, Trump endorsed Huang's dismissal of AI safety warnings as a "hoax." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later confirmed that the president is "completely aligned" with Huang.

Huang argues that export bans hinder American competitiveness and accelerate Beijing's development of homegrown technology. This push comes as Nvidia seeks to recover in the Chinese market after dismal sales of H200 chips, which recently accounted for less than 1 percent of the company's data center revenue. Potential gains are significant; ByteDance plans to order 1 million units if export curbs on gaming chips are lifted, which could secure two quarters of Nvidia's projected sales.

However, the relationship has drawn criticism from AI safety experts who fear the administration will downplay artificial intelligence risks and avoid critical safety discussions with China. U.S. officials remain concerned that high-end chips could enhance China's military and surveillance capabilities. Critics further warn that loosening controls could divert critical chip supplies away from U.S. data centers, threatening the domestic lead in frontier AI.