No Plans to Ship Flagship AI Chips to China

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang reaffirmed that the company has “no active discussions” regarding the sale of its flagship Blackwell AI chips to China, amid ongoing U.S. export restrictions and geopolitical frictions. Speaking during a visit to Tainan, Taiwan, Huang stated that Nvidia is “not planning to ship anything to China”, quashing speculation that a potential U.S.–China deal could relax current trade controls.

The Blackwell chip, Nvidia’s latest generation of artificial intelligence hardware, represents the company’s most powerful technology to date — and one that Washington has explicitly barred from Chinese markets due to national security concerns. The Trump administration has cited fears that the technology could accelerate China’s military AI development and domestic chip capabilities.

While investors and industry watchers had speculated that a scaled-down version of the chip might be approved following talks between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping in South Korea, Huang made clear that no such developments were underway. “It’s up to China when they would like Nvidia products to go back to serve the Chinese market,” he said, implying that the current policy environment remains restrictive.

China’s Market Off-Limits Despite Global Expansion

For now, Nvidia’s footprint in China’s high-end chip market is effectively zero. Although the company is allowed to sell the lower-spec H20 chip, designed to comply with U.S. export regulations, Huang said Chinese buyers have shown little interest. “China does not want Nvidia in the country,” he remarked earlier this month, underscoring a chilling divide in tech collaboration between the two economies.

The comments highlight the delicate position Nvidia faces as it balances surging global demand for AI computing power with the constraints of export regulations. China was once a critical growth driver for Nvidia’s data center division, but U.S. policy decisions — including multiple rounds of chip bans since 2022 — have forced the company to pivot toward alternative markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Still, Huang remains optimistic about Nvidia’s broader business momentum. “Business is very strong,” he said during the visit, noting that he was in Taiwan to meet with TSMC, Nvidia’s key manufacturing partner, and to attend the company’s annual sports day. His comments reflect Nvidia’s reliance on Taiwan’s semiconductor industry for chip production, even as global supply chains undergo reconfiguration under geopolitical strain.

Clarifying Remarks on China’s AI Race

Huang also used the trip to clarify recent remarks attributed to him by the Financial Times, which reported that he had said China would win the AI race. “That’s not what I said,” Huang explained. “What I said was that China has very good AI technology and many talented researchers.”

He emphasized that China remains a powerhouse in AI development, noting that half of the world’s AI researchers are based there, and that many of the most widely used open-source AI models originate from Chinese labs. “They’re moving very fast,” Huang said. “The United States has to continue to move incredibly fast; otherwise, the world is very competitive — we have to run fast.”

His comments underscore Nvidia’s pragmatic stance: while the company is shut out of China’s advanced AI hardware market, it recognizes the country’s central role in global research and innovation.

Outlook: Navigating Between Policy and Performance

Nvidia’s near-term prospects remain anchored in booming global demand for generative AI infrastructure, but its long-term trajectory will depend heavily on U.S. export policy. With Washington continuing to tighten restrictions on semiconductor exports and Beijing pushing for technological self-sufficiency, Nvidia is caught in the middle of a widening geopolitical rift.

Huang’s remarks suggest that Nvidia is focusing on execution outside China, relying on strong partnerships with TSMC, expanding its presence in new markets, and sustaining innovation in AI chips like Blackwell. As the global AI race accelerates, Nvidia’s ability to navigate the intersection of policy, technology, and competition will define its leadership in the next phase of the semiconductor cycle.