As the long-planned US /China meeting kicks off between Xi and Trump, some tech priorities get clearer as we see the list of who was invited to accompany the President on this trip. While Tim Cook and Elon Musk made the cut. Jensen Huang initially seemed like he did not, as per CNBC.
As is usual with this administration, that seemed to change at the last minute. The New York Times reports tonight that “Nvidia CEO Hitches Ride with Trump to China after Last-Minute Invite”. So much for that ‘will he, won’t he’ be invited to go drama. Maybe a timely Nvidia version of a 24-karat ‘Tim Apple’ golden trophy got procured at the last minute.
And while we await this weekend to see how this first of several heads of state meeting between the two goes, it’s useful to analyze it all for the AI Tech Wave this year and beyond.
“Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang joined US President Donald Trump on his visit to China as a last-minute addition to the trip.”
“Trump confirmed Huang’s attendance in a social media post, saying it was an honor to have Huang and other business leaders as part of the US delegation.”
“Huang was invited by Trump to support America and the administration’s goals, according to a statement from Nvidia.”
Otherwise, it’s a broad group indeed, with other tech companies like Meta represented.
“CEO Jensen Huang joined US President Donald Trump on his visit to China as a last-minute addition to the trip, boarding Air Force One on a stopover in Alaska.”
“Huang was spotted on the tarmac boarding the presidential plane and Trump later confirmed his attendance in a social media post, saying it was an honor to have Huang and other business leaders as part of the US delegation. Trump will also be joined by Tesla Inc.’s Elon Musk - who was also aboard the presidential plane - as well as Apple Inc. leader Tim Cook, Boeing Co.’s Kelly Ortberg, David Solomon of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, among others.”
“I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to ‘open up’ China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level!” Trump said in the post. “In fact, I promise, that when we are together, which will be in a matter of hours, I will make that my very first request.”
“White House spokesman Steven Cheung said Huang’s schedule changed, and “it just happened to work out.””
And Jensen had earlier himself made it clear that he would go if invited.
“Just last Thursday, Huang had expressed his willingness to join Trump on the highly anticipated trip to China, where the president is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. “If invited, it would be a privilege — it would be a great honor to represent the United States and to go to China with President Trump,” Huang told CNBC.”
It’s a continuation of a trend from last year for Jensen in DC.
“Last year, Huang emerged as a fixture in Washington with frequent visits to the White House and Capitol Hill to make his case for clearing a path for AI development, including by relaxing US export controls. He formed a bond with the president after being introduced to Trump in early 2025, and Huang said in an interview with Time that the two men spoke regularly by phone, often late at night.”
“Huang’s presence in Trump’s orbit extended to official White House visits last year to the Middle East and the UK, where the president called out Huang in the audience and praised the CEO’s work with Nvidia. “You’re taking over the world, Jensen,” Trump joked in September during an event in London.”
“The Nvidia chief has continued to communicate directly with Trump this year through multiple channels, according to a person familiar with the matter. Huang saw Trump in Washington as recently as last month, while attending events during King Charles III’s stay in Washington. A senior White House official personally texted Huang to invite him to a state dinner tied to the royal visit, the person added.”
And Nvidia has seen ups and downs with its opportunities in China.
“Nvidia scored a major lobbying win in December when Trump agreed to allow shipments of the company’s H200 AI chips to China, a decision that marked a significant easing of US restrictions aimed at keeping Beijing and its military from accessing the most powerful US technologies. Nvidia that month also succeeded in killing a chip-export provision in must-pass defense legislation.”
“Huang said in March that Nvidia was firing up its H200 production, a move the company is unlikely to take without confidence that sales of those chips could be completed. At the time, Huang emphasized that Nvidia had been licensed by the US Commerce Department to sell H200s to “many customers” in China, without offering specifics. The US is set to receive a 25% fee from Nvidia for any H200s sold to China.”
“Muddying the waters, however, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told lawmakers last month that while some H200s have been licensed for sale to China, none had been exported yet since the Chinese government hasn’t allowed its tech companies to purchase the chips. Huang has supported keeping US restrictions in place for the company’s more advanced AI chips, such as its Blackwell processors and the upcoming Vera Rubin line set to be rolled out later this year.”
This ‘threading the needle’ between the two countries has meant quite the balancing act for Jensen in both countries.
“US export controls have long been a sticking point in trade discussions between Washington and Beijing. Limits on China’s ability to acquire American technology fueled a standoff last year between the world’s largest economies that saw Beijing impose curbs on shipments of rare earths to US customers.”
“The two sides unveiled a truce in October after Trump’s last meeting with Xi where the US agreed to pause for a year some of its tech-related restrictions in exchange for renewed access to rare earth elements. Those measures will likely be up for discussion later this week.”
And Congress has had some bipartisan unity on this ongoing issue with geopolitical issues around China.
“In the meantime, members of Congress have mounted a renewed push to restrict the flow of AI technology to China. Last month, House lawmakers advanced a slate of bipartisan export control bills including the AI Overwatch Act, which would block the administration from allowing Nvidia to sell its Blackwell chips to Chinese customers. The measure would also give Congress the power to oversee license applications for shipments of the company’s H200 processors to China.”
For now, here’s another incentive for Jensen to be added to the China trip last minute.
“The US is set to receive a 25% fee from Nvidia for any H200s sold to China. But the US Commerce Department said that the chips have not yet been exported because the Chinese government hasn’t allowed its tech companies to purchase the chips. Huang has supported keeping US restrictions in place for the company’s more advanced AI chips, such as its Blackwell processors and the upcoming Vera Rubin line set to be rolled out later this year.”
So there’s that. Not ordinary times on either side of the world.
Let’s see what this trip and the follow on ones bring for Nvidia and Jensen later this year.
The 25 percent fee on H200s into China is the line item to watch from this trip. Per Bloomberg the chips have been licensed but Beijing has not let Chinese companies buy them, so the revenue mechanism only triggers if Xi unlocks the buyer side at the meeting. The Vera Rubin and Blackwell restrictions stay in place either way, which keeps the export-control posture intact while turning H200 into a managed-trade SKU. That is a different deal architecture than the binary export-control debate the AI Overwatch Act is built around.
The 25 percent fee on H200s into China is the line item to watch from this trip. Per Bloomberg the chips have been licensed but Beijing has not let Chinese companies buy them, so the revenue mechanism only triggers if Xi unlocks the buyer side at the meeting. The Vera Rubin and Blackwell restrictions stay in place either way, which keeps the export-control posture intact while turning H200 into a managed-trade SKU. That is a different deal architecture than the binary export-control debate the AI Overwatch Act is built around.