Nvidia CEO Huang to meet Chinese officials amid US tech tensions
Huang plans to meet top officials, including the commerce minister, while attending the International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing next week
Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang will meet with senior Chinese officials in Beijing next week, signalling the company’s commitment to a vast market Washington is increasingly seeking to isolate.
The CEO is seeking discussions with leaders including the commerce minister, a person familiar with the situation said. Huang is planning those meetings while attending the International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing next week, the person said, asking to remain anonymous discussing a plan still in flux. That conference is one of the Chinese government’s signature events and has featured the likes of Apple’s Tim Cook in the past.
Huang, who has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market, is a frequent visitor to China. He is returning to the country at a sensitive time for the company, which has become ensnared in a broader US-China tech conflict as the foremost producer of chips for artificial intelligence (AI) development.
It is unclear what Huang intends to address with Chinese officials. Nvidia representatives declined to comment on his agenda. A commerce ministry spokesperson said the agency had no information to share, when asked about Huang’s visit. A representative for the conference organisers declined to comment. The Financial Times reported earlier on Thursday that Huang planned to meet top officials during the expo in Beijing.
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Nvidia’s CEO this year branded Washington’s efforts to stall Beijing’s semiconductor ambitions a failure, arguing that the US should ease technology export curbs because they hand local rivals like Huawei Technologies an unfair advantage. The company is now barred from selling all but its lower-end, gaming-focused graphics processors in China.