Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun said China will eventually open its market to American AI chips, despite current restrictions, during comments on May 18, 2026, after visiting China with a US business delegation earlier this month [1, 2]. Huang told Bloomberg TV, "The Chinese government must decide to what extent it protects its domestic market. My feeling is that over time, the China market will open," emphasizing a gradual change [1].
Huang took part last minute in the US business delegation accompanying President Trump’s visit to China on May 14-15, 2026. During that trip, Nvidia’s RTX 5090D V2 gaming graphics card was banned in China on May 15, coinciding with Huang's visit [3, 4, 5]. Trump confirmed the Nvidia H200 AI chip was discussed with Chinese officials but no approval to sell has been granted yet [1, 3, 6, 2].
China has yet to approve purchases of Nvidia’s H200 chips, choosing instead to develop domestic alternatives [1, 3, 6, 2]. Some Chinese companies reportedly received US Commerce Department approval to buy H200 chips, but deliveries have not occurred due to ongoing trade restrictions [7, 8, 9, 10]. Huang acknowledged Nvidia has essentially ceded the Chinese AI chip market to Huawei, saying, "We have basically given that market to them" [6, 7, 8, 9, 10].
US export controls have limited Nvidia’s ability to supply advanced AI chips to China. Huang warned investors not to expect near-term sales approvals, stating, "I have no expectations, and that’s why all our forecasts, numbers, and guidance for analysts and investors have been set to not invest or expect" [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. Still, Huang expressed hope Nvidia might return to the Chinese market if conditions improve: "We would be very happy to serve that market. We have many customers and partners there and have operated there for 30 years" [7].
Nvidia reported its fiscal Q2 2026 revenue rose 85% year-on-year to $81.62 billion, and announced an $80 billion share buyback plan [7, 8, 9, 10]. Morgan Stanley projects China’s AI chip market will reach $67 billion by 2030, with 86% supplied by domestic vendors [4, 5]. The market is about $21 billion in 2026, previously dominated by Nvidia with $17 billion in China sales last year [4, 5].
After China, Huang arrived in Taiwan on May 23 to prepare for Computex 2026 and Nvidia GTC Taipei events [11, 12]. Huang’s Taiwan schedule includes meetings with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. founder Zhang Zhongmou and chairman Wei Zhejia [12]. On May 27, Huang will attend the groundbreaking of Nvidia’s new Taiwan headquarters and will host a high-profile industry banquet “兆元宴” today, May 28, with leading Taiwanese tech executives representing companies valued at over 75 trillion NTD (3.06 trillion SGD) [11, 12].
