Nvidia in for Big Win in China Amid US Tech War
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Nvidia says it expects U.S. government approval to export advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips to the Chinese market.
The green light would be a breakthrough for the chipmaker after months of navigating controls on semiconductor technology aimed at slowing China's progress on AI technologies with military applications.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via written request for comment.
Why It Matters
China is a critical market for Nvidia, accounting for about 15.5 percent of its business as of April. That month, the White House said a special license would be required to export Nvidia's H20 GPU—a chip widely viewed as having contributed to the development of the Chinese AI model DeepSeek.
Just days later, U.S. President Donald Trump said delivery of "all necessary permits" would be expedited after the tech giant announced a $500 billion investment in supercomputer production in the U.S.
What To Know
Nvidia's new chips, including the Blackwell series and a repurposed H20, are designed to comply with U.S. export rules, the company has said.
CEO Jensen Huang continued his public relations offensive last week in Washington, D.C.
Jensen Huang, cofounder and CEO of Nvidia Corp., attends the VivaTech trade show in Paris on June 11.
Jensen Huang, cofounder and CEO of Nvidia Corp., attends the VivaTech trade show in Paris on June 11.
Getty Images
In meetings with policymakers and Trump, Huang pledged that Nvidia remained committed to the administration's efforts to create jobs and bolster onshore manufacturing and domestic AI infrastructure, the company said in a statement published Monday.
The government has given assurances that licenses to sell the H20 GPU would be granted, Nvidia said, adding that it hopes to resume deliveries soon.
"General-purpose, open-source research and foundation models are the backbone of AI innovation. We believe that every civil model should run best on the U.S. technology stack, encouraging nations worldwide to choose America," Huang said.
Nvidia shares closed at a record $170.70 on Tuesday after rising more than 4 percent in early trading.
What People Have Said
Lin Jian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said during Tuesday's press briefing: "I would like to point out that China's opposition to politicizing, instrumentalizing and weaponizing tech and trade issues and malicious attempts to blockade and keep down China is consistent and clear. These actions will destabilize the global industrial and supply chains, and serve no one's interests."
Lia Holmgren, independent trader and trading coach, wrote on X: "$NVDA does it again, this move is unreal. Another all-time high today, and the stock tacked on $200B in market cap like it was nothing. Nvidia's now worth $4.1 trillion, that's 3.6 percent of global GDP."
What's Next
The resumption of H20 chip exports could unlock billions in revenue for Nvidia, currently the world's largest company by market cap, and shape the contours of the global AI industry, projected to be worth $50 billion by the end of the decade.
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