NVIDIA CEO visits Beijing as new US restrictions may halt H20 chips exports to China

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang made his second visit to Beijing this year on Thursday, just three months after his previous trip to China. During his visit, Huang reaffirmed the company’s long-term commitment to the Chinese market, stressing that despite challenges posed by US government export controls on chips, NVIDIA will continue to adapt its product lineup to meet regulatory requirements and remain deeply invested in China.

Why it matters: Amid the ongoing tariff battle between the US and China, the Trump administration last week imposed an indefinite ban on the export of NVIDIA’s H20 chips, which were specifically designed for the Chinese market. As a result, NVIDIA expects $5.5 billion in inventory and procurement losses. The company may consider developing new chips tailored to comply with US regulatory restrictions.

Details: Ren Hongbin, President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), held talks with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang in Beijing, according to Chinese state-owned media CCTV Finance. 

• During the meeting, Ren asked Huang to assess the impact of the US government’s indefinite export ban on NVIDIA’s H20 chips to China. Huang said that strengthened export controls have significantly affected NVIDIA’s business, but the company hopes to continue collaborating with China, where it has grown alongside the market for 30 years. “We’ll keep working hard to adjust our products to meet the regulations and stay committed to serving the Chinese market,” Huang said.
• When asked by a CCTV reporter about AI’s impact on productivity, Huang explained that AI is already making a big difference in areas such as software development, research, chip design, and supply chain management. While this is just the beginning, AI will soon bring major disruptions to industries including healthcare, finance, climate tech, and manufacturing, Huang added.
• On the same day, according to the Financial Times, Huang also met with Liang Wenfeng, the founder of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, to discuss how to design the next generation of chips for China to meet customer demands and comply with both US and Chinese regulatory requirements.

Context: In January, Huang took a week-long trip to China, visiting Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai, where he attended the annual meeting of NVIDIA’s China subsidiary. NVIDIA currently employs around 4,000 people in China.