NVIDIA chief Jensen Huang is embarking on a trip to China this week, visiting major cities at a time Beijing is investigating his company’s domestic presence and Washington is slapping new curbs on the sale of its artificial intelligence (AI) chips abroad.
The Nvidia chief executive officer is due to arrive in Shenzhen for employees’ annual Chinese New Year celebrations around Jan 15, days before president-elect Donald Trump gets sworn in for a second term, sources familiar with the matter said. The co-founder also plans to visit Shanghai and Beijing, the sources said, asking not to be named discussing private matters. And he will fly to Taipei later this week, another source familiar with his travel plans said.
Huang is touring China at a sensitive time for the company, which has been ensnared in the broader US-China tech conflict as the foremost producer of chips for AI development. This week, the White House unveiled sweeping new limits on the sale of advanced AI chips by Nvidia and its peers. The US firm has criticised the curbs, warning it will dent American competitiveness.
At the same time, Chinese authorities have begun a probe into potential allegations of antitrust violations, involving a four-year-old acquisition that previously received Beijing’s blessing. The investigation could hurt Nvidia’s business in the country, already constrained by preexisting US restrictions on top-end AI training chips.
Huang – one of the busiest CEOs on the international speaking circuit – may still choose to alter his plans. It’s also unclear if he will be meeting with Chinese officials during the trip. Huang made a similar trip a year ago, interacting with local employees in several Chinese cities but skipping public meetings with officials. The 61-year-old, who was born in Taiwan, will also visit Taipei for a similar purpose later this week, the source said.
Nvidia representatives declined to comment.
Foreign companies usually send senior executives to negotiate with Chinese officials when they face antitrust probes. Qualcomm honchos were among the frequent visitors to Beijing when China investigated alleged monopolistic practices by the US chip designer almost a decade ago.
Nvidia has shown interest in expanding its business in the world’s second-largest economy. It made US$5.4 billion in China and Hong Kong in the quarter ended October, according to company filings.
The US company hired hundreds of more employees in China in 2024 to enhance research capabilities in primarily autonomous driving technologies, Bloomberg News reported last month. BLOOMBERG
