Nvidia made clear it will not sell high-end products to China. Jensen Huang, Nvidia's chief executive officer (CEO), publicly declared he will not supply China with the company's cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) chips "Blackwell" and its next-generation product "Rubin." Huang, who had left open the possibility of pursuing the Chinese market, is seen as effectively shifting strategy amid the U.S. government's export controls and China's sanctions.
◇ Jensen Huang: "We should not supply cutting-edge chips to China"
According to Wccftech and Nikkei Asia, Huang said at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles on the 5th (local time), "China should not secure the latest AI accelerators like Blackwell or Rubin," adding, "The United States must always be ahead in the AI industry." He effectively signaled he will not export Blackwell and Rubin to China.
In an interview with CNBC, he also said, "The United States should have the first, the most, and the best technology," adding, "We are a U.S. corporations, and we strongly support the United States securing cutting-edge technology first."
Until last year, Huang had emphasized the importance of the Chinese market. In Nvidia's earnings conference call in Aug. last year, he said, "Bringing Blackwell into the Chinese market is realistically quite possible." Huang also met directly at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss export license issues to China.
Huang had also argued that "it is better to let Chinese AI developers use Nvidia chips than to push them to use only China's own technology." The logic was that if the United States completely blocked exports, it could instead accelerate the Chinese semiconductor industry's self-sufficiency. He said the size of China's AI market reaches $50 billion (73.295 trillion won) annually and could grow 50% each year.
But within a few months, the mood changed completely. In Nov. last year, Huang said, "We currently have no plans to supply any products to China," adding, "There are no discussions underway to supply Blackwell AI chips to Chinese corporations." He left room, however, saying, "Someday, I hope China changes its policies so Nvidia products can reenter the Chinese market."
Huang's remarks on the 5th went a step further by making clear he would not export Blackwell and Rubin to China, effectively drawing a line with China. Huang also acknowledged that Nvidia's market share for AI accelerators in China is effectively at "0%." Because of U.S. government export controls, supplies of high-performance AI chips have been blocked, and as Chinese corporations accelerate their own technology development, they are rapidly reducing reliance on Nvidia.
◇ Nvidia squeezed by U.S.-China tensions… "Chip exports should be restricted for security"
The U.S. government has restricted exports of Nvidia's cutting-edge chips to China to rein in Beijing's advances in AI and military technology. The scope of the controls was recently expanded to include Blackwell. The AI Overwatch Act, recently introduced by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, includes provisions to block the U.S. administration from allowing sales of Blackwell to Chinese customers.
While Nvidia has been unable to make a full-fledged entry into China, Chinese corporations such as Huawei are growing rapidly by pushing development of their own AI chips. The Chinese government is also reportedly encouraging local AI corporations to use domestic chips instead of Nvidia's.
Experts said Nvidia appears to be placing more weight on strengthening a U.S.-centric AI supply chain and national security than on expanding in China. According to U.S. federal prosecutors, in Mar., Supermicro employees are under investigation on suspicion of involvement in smuggling Nvidia GPUs into China in violation of U.S. export controls.
Hanna Doment, a senior fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University, told MarketWatch, "This case shows that the U.S. government is prioritizing enforcement of export controls on semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment."