Nvidia’s Huang says company isn’t in talks to sell chips to China

Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang said Friday that the company is not in active discussions to sell its advanced Blackwell AI chips to Chinese firms, pushing back on speculation that it is seeking a pathway back into the world’s largest semiconductor market.

“There’re no active discussions. Currently, we’re not planning to ship anything to China,” Huang said from Tainan, Taiwan.

“It’s up to China when they would like Nvidia products to go back to serve the Chinese market. I look forward to them changing their policy, and hopefully we’ll be able to serve the Chinese market again.”

Huang, 62, arrived in Taiwan ahead of meetings with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), one of Nvidia’s closest partners and key chip suppliers.

He is expected to attend TSMC’s annual sports day event on Saturday.

The Nvidia founder’s visit follows a global tour that included stops in Washington and South Korea, where he has been signing deals with companies looking to harness Nvidia’s growing influence in artificial intelligence hardware and infrastructure.

Nvidia retains global lead amid AI boom

Nvidia’s meteoric rise has made it the most valuable company in the world, surpassing both Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

The chipmaker recently added $1 trillion to its market capitalisation in just a few months, reaching the $5 trillion mark for the first time in history.

Although the stock has cooled in recent days, Nvidia remains the central beneficiary of the global AI investment wave.

Its chips power most of the world’s large language models, data centres, and cloud infrastructure.

Huang’s comments, however, underscore the growing geopolitical risks surrounding the AI hardware sector, particularly as the US government maintains strict export controls on high-end processors destined for China.

“China is nanoseconds behind America in AI”

Huang’s latest remarks follow comments earlier this week that carried a distinctly nationalistic tone.

Writing on X (formerly Twitter), he said, “As I have long said, China is nanoseconds behind America in AI. It’s vital that America wins by racing ahead and winning developers worldwide.”

The statement, originally reported by the Financial Times, was interpreted by analysts as a call for greater US support of its domestic AI industry and a subtle pushback against tightening export rules.

Under current US trade restrictions, Nvidia is prohibited from selling its most advanced processors to China — including its new Blackwell-series chips, which represent its next-generation AI architecture.

The limitations have created a strategic challenge for Nvidia, cutting off what was once one of its largest markets.

In past comments, Huang estimated that access to China could represent a $50 billion opportunity for the company, with AI-related demand there expected to grow 50% annually.

The Biden and Trump administrations have both maintained restrictions on chip exports, citing national security concerns tied to advanced AI capabilities.

Despite a US-China trade accord unveiled last week, officials confirmed that authorising sales of Nvidia’s Blackwell chips to Chinese firms remains “off the table for now.”

Huang has previously cautioned that curbing US companies too aggressively could erode America’s long-term technological advantage.

He has argued that innovation, not restriction, is the key to maintaining leadership in artificial intelligence.

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