At a Glance: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was added last-minute to President Trump’s delegation for the China summit. The tech billionaire, known for pushing to loosen AI chip export restrictions, was not originally on the guest list. Trump disputed media reports about a missing invitation on Truth Social. Huang’s participation could indicate discussions on sensitive chip exports to China.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang surprisingly joined President Donald Trump’s delegation at the last minute and boarded Air Force One Tuesday evening to travel to the long-awaited summit meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping. Huang, a Trump supporter who has repeatedly advocated to Congress and the administration for loosening export restrictions on AI chips, was not on the original list of invited business executives.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang unexpectedly joined President Donald Trump’s delegation and boarded Air Force One Tuesday evening to travel to the highly anticipated summit meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping. The tech entrepreneur, a well-known Trump supporter who has persistently advocated for loosening export restrictions on artificial intelligence chips, was not listed on the original list of invited corporate executives published on Monday.
Alongside Huang, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon are invited to the summit, which is scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Huang’s participation has sparked speculation about whether questions regarding chip export restrictions could be raised during the talks.
An Nvidia spokesman confirmed in a statement to POLITICO: “Jensen is participating in the summit at the invitation of President Trump to support America and the administration’s objectives.” The White House extended the invitation to Huang after media reports claimed he had not been invited, according to an anonymous source.
Trump himself energetically denied the reports on Truth Social, writing: “CNBC falsely reported that the great Jensen Huang of Nvidia was not invited to the incredible meeting of the world’s best business leaders. In truth, Jensen is currently aboard Air Force One, and unless I specifically ask him to get off—which is extremely unlikely—CNBC is wrong or, as they say in politics, it’s FAKE NEWS!”
Huang had successfully convinced the administration to approve the sale of Nvidia’s H200 chips—now the company’s third most advanced offering—to China in December. This decision has alarmed skeptics among China critics across the political spectrum, who worry that Beijing’s access to more advanced U.S. chips could give the rival a competitive advantage in the global AI race.