Recent US-China talks did little to resolve export-control disputes, but Nvidia may still come out ahead. According to The Information, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has asked Alibaba and ByteDance to detail plans for using Nvidia's RTX Pro 5500 gaming chips, which could be repurposed in servers to power popular AI models. If approved, ByteDance alone could order 1 million chips, giving Nvidia a major boost after its China data-center revenue fell below 1 percent of the total in the latest quarter.
Behind the scenes, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has built a close relationship with President Trump, who initially questioned the company's value and even considered breaking it up. After a Mar-a-Lago dinner, Trump lifted restrictions on H200 chips and has since adopted talking points that align with Huang's view that AI is an economic boon rather than an existential threat. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump is "completely aligned" with Huang, and author Stephen Witt describes Huang as the president's most influential adviser on technology.
Critics are uneasy. Andrew Yoon of the AI safety nonprofit CivAI says Nvidia is "the most aggressive" in prioritizing profit, and some national security experts fear that looser controls could let too many advanced chips reach China. The source notes that Nvidia's own reporting shows no current competition for chip supply between the countries, but the broader worry is that policy is being shaped by a company with a direct financial stake in downplaying risks.