Nvidia CEO in China as US tech curbs, trade war threaten sales

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang arrived in Beijing on Thursday, state media said, days after the United States curbed sales of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China.

Nvidia this week said it expected a US$5.5 billion earnings hit this quarter due to a new US licensing requirement on GPUs (graphics processing units) with bandwidths similar to the H20, the primary chip it could legally sell in China.

Shares of the company slumped around seven percent on Wednesday.

In Beijing on Thursday, Huang met with Ren Hongbin, head of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, telling him that "China is a very important market for Nvidia", according to state broadcaster CCTV.

He expressed hope for "continued cooperation" with China on Thursday, state media said.

The United States has imposed tariffs of up to 245 percent on Chinese imports.

China retaliated with 125 percent levies on US goods.

Nvidia generated US$17 billion in China in 2024, 13 percent of its total sales.