Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said.
Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda.
Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment.
Photo: Reuters
Nvidia declined to comment.
Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and 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.
Huang has called for easing US technology export curbs, because they give Chinese rivals, such as Huawei Technologies Co (華為), an unfair advantage.
US restrictions have effectively locked Nvidia out of China, the largest market for chips, and as a result, the company expects to lose out on US$8 billion in sales this quarter alone.
Huang’s meeting with Trump also came a day after Nvidia became the first company to surpass US$4 trillion in market capitalization, with investors signaling continued enthusiasm for an AI boom that has buoyed shares across the technology sector.
Trump touted the company’s soaring share price in a social media post earlier on Thursday, citing the boom in tech stocks as a reason for the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.
Nvidia’s chips are prized for their ability to power AI applications, with tech giants Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc projected to put about US$350 billion into capital expenditures in their upcoming fiscal years.
Huang is scheduled to travel to Beijing where he would meet with senior Chinese officials, including the commerce minister, a person familiar with the situation said.
He would also be taking part in the International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing next week, the person said, asking to remain anonymous to discuss a plan still in flux.
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