Nvidia CEO praises Trump’s plan to lift AI export curbs on China

Nvidia’s Chief Executive Officer, Jensen Huang, has publicly endorsed President Donald Trump’s recent decision to ease restrictions on U.S. exports of artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China, calling out the previous Biden administration’s regulations as a monumental “failure” that has cost American companies significant sales.

This announcement comes amid ongoing discussions around the U.S.-China relationship concerning technological advancements.

According to the report by NBC News, during a session at the Computex technology trade show in Taiwan, Huang remarked that the Biden administration’s export controls, designed to halt the proliferation of AI technology to China, have whittled his company’s market share from nearly 95% down to only 50%. He expressed his viewpoint that these measures were predicated on a “fundamentally flawed” assumption that the U.S. monopolises AI technology.

Under the former Biden regime, stringent multi-tier export curbs were imposed aimed at restricting advanced chip sales to China, which was justified as a move to prevent potential military applications of the technology.

However, critics assert that such regulations hinder U.S. tech leadership while simultaneously spurring local Chinese firms to innovate with homegrown solutions.

Huang highlighted how blocked access to American products has compelled companies in China, like tech giant Huawei, to pivot towards local development.

Huang continued to praise the skills and determination of local Chinese firms, stating that these restrictions have, unintentionally, fostered a sense of resilience among them. “The local companies are very, very talented and very determined,” he remarked. “The export control gave them the spirit, the energy and the government support to accelerate their development.”

He elaborated that these firms are now eager for the U.S. to maintain distance, as China is projected to comprise 50% of the global AI research community, with its AI market expected to reach a valuation of $50 billion by next year.

Nvidia recently announced a significant write-off of approximately $5.5 billion in AI chips, tailored specifically for the Chinese market, as a direct consequence of the previous administration’s export regulations. Huang expressed a hope that the U.S. government would reconsider its ban on exports, stating, “I really do hope that the U.S. government recognizes that the ban is not effective and give us a chance to go back and win the market as soon as possible.”

Huang’s comments came during a trip with Trump earlier this month, wherein he praised the president’s strategic shift away from Biden’s AI diffusion policy. He emphasized the urgency, stating, “He sees it very clearly that the race is on.” According to him, it is imperative for the U.S. to bolster its diffusion capabilities rather than restricting them, particularly as other nations are poised to fill any potential void left by the U.S.

Amid this, China’s state investment in semiconductor technology has allegedly surpassed $150 billion over the last decade. In light of Washington’s export guidelines, which reportedly threaten firms globally if they utilise advanced Chinese chips sans licensing, Beijing has expressed serious discontent. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce condemned the U.S. actions as detrimental to recent tariffs discussions, signalling a potential escalation in trade tensions. Additionally, they labelled U.S. export controls as “unilateral bullying and protectionism,” promising to intensify measures against entities adhering to these new restrictions.

This intricate web of geopolitics and technological competition continues to evolve, as industry leaders and governments grapple with the complex balance between innovation, security, and commerce.