How an engineer turned tech mogul became the most influential voice in AI and a key figure in Trump’s trade diplomacy with China.

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang has been active on the government relations and lobbying front, and now he’s got something big to show for his efforts: the Trump Administration has agreed to lift a ban on selling Nvidia H20 AI chips to China.

With help from a longtime Silicon Valley investor turned White House insider, Mr. Huang got the administration to reverse course on restrictions.

As America and China swap shots in the trade battle served up by Donald Trump, Mr Huang has pinged and ponged between Washington and Beijing to reassure both sides it is in their mutual interest to let his company keep selling some of its artificial-intelligence ( AI) chips to Chinese buyers.

Nvidia is looking to ship more advanced chips to China than its current generation, CEO Jensen Huang said on Wednesday, as he looks to revitalize sales in the world's second-largest economy.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says the US must win over global AI developers — especially the 50% in China — to lead the future of AI.

Jensen Huang, Founder & CEO of Nvidia, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the third China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, on July 16, 2025. Photo: Chi Jingyi

Now, let's consider Jensen Huang's recent move. The CEO sold shares of Nvidia from July 8 through July 10, and that follows a sale of shares from June 18 through June 23.

Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang spent months telling everyone what a grave mistake the US was making restricting shipments of artificial intelligence processors to China — with little sign that his argument was swaying anyone.