Huang called for policymakers to propel US AI technology by lowering export barriers aimed at curtailing the rise of a geopolitical rival. Some corners of Washington are receptive to that argument when it applies to countries like Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to China – but Huang has so far failed to turn the tide of restrictions that specifically target the world’s second largest economy.
China alone will account for a US$50 billion opportunity in 2026, Huang told reporters at Computex in Taipei. If American tech providers like Nvidia aren’t allowed in, local customers will just spend that money elsewhere, he said.
Fewer restrictions directly benefit Nvidia, the company at the heart of a global AI infrastructure boom. Huang’s views align with the likes of White House AI adviser David Sacks, who has pushed for ensuring the world builds its AI tools and applications on an American “tech stack” – a full complement of hardware and services based on US know-how. The Trump administration is rescinding restrictions on Nvidia chip shipments to much of the world, though officials are drafting a replacement framework.
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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveils plan to build ‘AI supercomputer’ in Taiwan
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unveils plan to build ‘AI supercomputer’ in Taiwan
US officials have also reaffirmed Washington’s opposition to the use of chips from Huawei, a front runner in China’s technology industry, provoking outrage from Beijing.
“All in all, the export controls were a failure. The facts would suggest it,” Huang told reporters, in some of his harshest criticism yet of the US campaign. “The US should maximise the speed of AI diffusion. Because if we don’t, the competition will come.”
