Initially not invited, Jensen Huang finally took part in Donald Trump’s official visit to China at the last minute. A trip which, however, did not result in any concrete progress for the boss of Nvidia, who still hopes that Beijing will authorize Chinese companies to buy its graphics cards (GPU) dedicated to generative artificial intelligence. “They don’t want it, they want to design their own chips… recognized the American president, specifying that he had raised the subject with his counterpart Xi Jinping.
This statement contrasts with the optimism displayed in March by Jensen Huang. The leader then announced the relaunch of production of H200 GPUs, the export of which to China had been authorized at the end of 2025 by Washington. But the Chinese authorities are blocking its graphics cards, long considered essential for training and running AI models. A ban which reflects the desire to favor alternatives designed by Huawei, Alibaba or Baidu, now deemed sufficiently efficient to take over from Nvidia’s chips.
Spectacular turnaround
After months of intensive lobbying, Nvidia thought it had overcome the most difficult obstacle: convincing the Trump administration, which had tightened export restrictions in the spring of 2025. The Santa Clara group had obtained authorization to sell its H200s, launched two years ago but still very competitive, to Chinese buyers “approves†by Washington. He even accepted an unprecedented financial arrangement: paying 25% of the turnover made in China to the American government. Confident, its leaders anticipated a demand for one million GPUs.
Nvidia believed that the performance gap between the H200 and the Chinese chips was too significant to be ignored. Beijing’s decision constitutes a spectacular turnaround. In this geopolitical battle, the United States thought it held all the cards: based on restrictions and export licenses, it decided which AI chips could be sold to Chinese companies. It is now China which refuses to buy them… and Washington which is offended at losing access to this colossal market.
To go further:
– Why China no longer wants to buy Nvidia’s AI chips
–Why Huawei is downplaying its progress in AI chips
