NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has replaced Tesla's Elon Musk as one of China's top mediators to the US, suggests a report from the Nikkei. Huang scored a major win earlier when he successfully lobbied the Trump administration to grant export licenses for NVIDIA's H20 AI chips designed specifically for Chinese companies. The easing restrictions and NVIDIA's position in the AI ecosystem have made Huang favorable to Beijing as it hopes to rely on business leaders to act as mediators in the US.
NVIDIA CEO Gains Favor With China To Act As Bridge With US, Says Report
2025 was off to a tough start for Huang and his firm as the outgoing Biden administration introduced the AI Diffusion rules, which prevent advanced AI GPUs from being freely sold to most countries except a list of 12 nations. Huang and NVIDIA were sharp in their criticism of the rules, but they were dealt another blow after the Trump administration decided to limit NVIDIA from selling its China-specific H20 GPU as well.
The H20 ban forced NVIDIA to write off its inventory, and according to reports, also shut down the GPU's production lines. Huang then proceeded on a charm offensive, which convinced the US government to grant the H20 export licenses as he was visiting China.
In China, the NVIDIA CEO continued his charm offensive and praised the country's strengths in AI and NVIDIA's business there. Huang's connections to the US government and his success in having procured the H20 export licenses have also won him favor with the Chinese and led him to replace Elon Musk as a bridge between the US and China, says the Nikkei.
The centerpiece of Huang's argument to convince the US government to grant H20 export licenses is keeping China dependent on American hardware for its AI needs. The approach has yielded results and allowed him to become a conduit between the US and China and an alternative to the security hawks in Washington. US AI chip restrictions against China are motivated by national security concerns, according to policymakers, due to worries of the equipment used by the Chinese military to bolster its capabilities.
These concerns have also led to the sales of advanced chips manufactured by Taiwan's TSMC to Chinese technology giant Huawei and the sale of high-end EUV chip lithography equipment from Dutch firm ASML being restricted to Chinese chip manufacturer SMIC.
Amidst these tensions, Huang " is viewed by some Chinese analysts as Beijing's favored bridge to the US, combining star power with strategic relevance," says Lizzi Lee, a fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, according to the Nikkei. However, Huang is relatively insulated from business interests in China when compared to Musk, whose firm not only generates a large portion of its revenue from the country but also has a sizable manufacturing presence there.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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