Catenaa, Monday, May 26, 2025-Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sharply criticized US chip export restrictions during a keynote at the Computex tech forum on Wednesday, calling them a “failure” that has only accelerated China’s domestic semiconductor development.
Huang said the export controls, introduced by both the Biden and Trump administrations to limit China’s access to high-end AI chips, have instead energized China’s tech ecosystem.
“The local companies are very, very talented and very determined,” he said. “The export control gave them the spirit, the energy and the government support to accelerate their development.”
Nvidia, a global leader in GPU design, has been heavily impacted by the restrictions. Huang revealed that the company had written off billions in lost sales and seen its market share in China’s AI chip sector plunge from 95% to 50% since the Biden-era controls took effect.
His remarks come amid renewed tensions, with the US recently barring shipments of Nvidia’s H20 chips to China, despite the product being designed to comply with earlier restrictions. Huang’s surprise visit to Beijing last month included meetings with government and AI industry leaders, reportedly to explore compliant chip design options.
While the Trump administration recently eased some restrictions, it simultaneously warned allies against using Huawei’s Ascend AI chips—drawing a sharp rebuke from China’s commerce ministry, which labeled the actions “unilateral bullying” and a threat to global supply chain stability.
With China home to half of the world’s AI researchers, Huang emphasized its growing influence. “China has a vibrant technology ecosystem,” he said, “and is incredibly good at software.”
