A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators has urged Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to avoid meeting with Chinese companies linked to military or intelligence operations during his current visit to China, warning that such engagements could undermine U.S. chip export controls and legitimize actors working against American national interests.
The letter, signed by Republican Senator Jim Banks and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, cautioned Huang against interactions with entities listed on the U.S. export restrictions list or known to have ties with the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) defense or surveillance sectors. Huang is reportedly in China this weekend to meet partners and developers, at a time when tensions over AI chip access have escalated between Washington and Beijing.
“We are worried that your trip to the PRC could legitimize companies that cooperate closely with the Chinese military or involve discussing exploitable gaps in U.S. export controls,” the senators wrote.
Nvidia’s Shrinking China Market and Export Restrictions
Since the U.S. began tightening semiconductor export controls in 2022, Nvidia—long the undisputed leader in AI chipmaking—has seen its business in China take a hit. The company once generated a significant share of revenue from the region, but successive restrictions have barred it from shipping top-tier chips like the A100 and H100 to Chinese buyers, citing fears of military end-use.
In response, Nvidia developed modified chips for the Chinese market, including the H20, L20, and L2, designed to comply with U.S. regulations. However, their performance falls far short of the banned models, making them less attractive to customers eager for advanced compute power in AI training and inference.
The Biden administration’s curbs have pushed Chinese firms to explore domestic alternatives—an outcome that worries Huang.
Huang Warns of Long-Term Costs of Export Controls
The Nvidia chief has been openly critical of the current export regime, warning that blanket restrictions could backfire. In remarks made in June, Huang argued that the U.S. risked losing global influence if it pushed international AI developers—including those in China—toward alternative platforms.
“If we want the American technology stack to win around the world, then giving up 50% of the world’s AI researchers is not sensible,” Huang said.
He stressed the importance of allowing global developers to build on U.S. chips, frameworks, and platforms to ensure American technology remains the foundation of the AI ecosystem.
“So long as all the AI developers are in China, I think the China stack is going to win,” Huang warned. “We have to be mindful of near-term actions that have long-term, unintended consequences.”
Lawmakers and National Security Concerns
However, U.S. lawmakers have remained firm in their belief that cutting off high-performance chips to China is critical for national security. The senators’ letter to Huang echoed concerns that advanced chips could accelerate the PRC’s military modernization efforts, particularly in areas like surveillance, autonomous weapons, and cyber warfare.
The letter also pointed to Nvidia’s new AI research center in Shanghai as an example of actions that could inadvertently strengthen China’s AI capabilities. U.S. officials are increasingly alarmed by tactics like shell companies and third-party resellers being used to bypass export controls. One recent example involved Chinese AI firm DeepSeek, which was accused of aiding Beijing’s military and intelligence networks while attempting to acquire restricted hardware.
An Nvidia spokesperson responded by defending the company’s global engagement strategy, stating that “America wins” when U.S. technologies become the global standard.
“AI software should run best on the U.S. technology stack, encouraging nations worldwide to choose America,” the spokesperson said, emphasizing that China remains home to one of the world’s largest developer communities.
While Nvidia remains the world’s dominant supplier of AI accelerators, the company is increasingly caught in the crosshairs of a broader geopolitical struggle over control of next-generation computing. Washington sees cutting-edge semiconductors as critical infrastructure. Beijing sees them as a bottleneck to its technological self-sufficiency.
The stakes extend far beyond Nvidia’s quarterly results. The U.S. is seeking to prevent its most advanced chips from being used in authoritarian surveillance systems or battlefield AI. China, in turn, is ramping up investment in homegrown semiconductors, aiming to break free from Western supply chains.
For Nvidia, the challenge is walking a tightrope between national policy and global market demand. The current trip by Huang comes at a critical juncture—not only for the company’s China strategy but for the future of U.S. leadership in AI.
With a fresh round of export control discussions underway in Washington, lawmakers have made clear that corporate diplomacy must not compromise national security—no matter how large the Chinese market might be.
