Nvidia’s Huang Wins China Reprieve in Rare Trade War Reversal

Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang spent months telling everyone what a grave mistake the US was making restricting shipments of artificial intelligence processors to China — with little sign that his argument was swaying anyone.

Then, very suddenly, that all changed.

Late on Monday, the chipmaker said it received assurances that the US government would allow it to export some chips to the Asian nation. Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Nvidia’s chief rival, quickly followed with a similar announcement. These export license approvals could generate billions of dollars in total revenue for the companies this year — and they mark a dramatic reversal after the Trump administration said the issue wasn’t even up for debate.

Bloomberg's Ian King reports.

Huang has taken almost every opportunity available to him — from the stage of tech events to Washington visits — to argue that a crackdown on China is counterproductive. During his appearances, he navigated a fine line between praising Trump policies aimed at bringing back chip manufacturing to the US and demanding more freedom to do business in China.

Just last week, Huang met with President Donald Trump at the White House.

“Jensen has done a wonderful job at advocating to the administration,” said Matthew Bryson, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. The CEO has catered to the White House’s interest in investing in the US, “while at the same time advocating his views on the importance that US AI should flow freely,” he said.

When Nvidia announced its plans to reenter the China market, Huang was visiting Beijing, attending a government-sponsored event and meeting officials to discuss “safe and secure AI for the benefit of all,” according to a company statement. Nvidia said it was assured that licenses would be granted by the US government and “hopes to start deliveries soon.”

“It is a positive signal not only for Nvidia and its related supply chain but also for broader markets given its implications for US-China trade talks,” said Richard Clode, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors.

Still, there’s no guarantee the new approvals will lead to flourishing business in China. Nvidia and AMD aren’t certain how many chips the new export licenses will cover or how long they will last, according to a person familiar with the matter. In China, the US chipmakers are only permitted to sell older, limited versions of their products. And many buyers in the country, where companies are rapidly churning out AI models, have moved to local suppliers.

It’s also not clear how much Huang’s lobbying turned the tide. The concession was part of broader US negotiations with China, which the White House said will accept higher tariffs and cooperate on rare-earth minerals.

“Senior administration officials are pretty clearly characterizing this as having been explicitly traded for what we got in those talks,” said Tobin Marcus, head of US policy and politics at Wolfe Research.

Huang has argued that restrictions in China mean American chipmakers will cede the immense market to local rivals, chiefly Huawei Technologies Co. White House AI adviser David Sacks has echoed that, calling for an American “tech stack” — a set of complementary hardware and software services that the nation can export and control. Sacks, a tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, was critical in reversing recent semiconductor restrictions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, arguing that the Gulf powerhouses would otherwise turn to China for their growing AI ambitions.

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