Nvidia says US export controls on AI to China were 'a failure'

Max A. Cherney and Wen-Yee Lee

Tue, May 20, 2025, 6:53 PM 1 min read

By Max A. Cherney and Wen-Yee Lee

TAIPEI (Reuters) -U.S. export controls on artificial intelligence chips to China were "a failure", Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said on Wednesday.

"All in all, the export control was a failure," Huang said adding, "The fundamental assumptions that led to the AI diffusion rule in the beginning, in the first place, has been proven to be fundamentally flawed."

The U.S. block on sales of advanced AI chips to China has forced companies there to buy semiconductors from Chinese designers such as Huawei, while also spurring China to invest aggressively to develop a supply chain that doesn't rely on manufacturers outside the country.

Huang's comments came after China on Monday urged the United States to "immediately correct its wrongdoings" and stop "discriminatory" measures following the U.S. guidance warning companies not to use advanced computer chips from China, including Huawei's Ascend AI chips.

The U.S. action seriously undermined consensus reached at the high-level bilateral trade talks in Geneva, a statement from China's commerce ministry said, vowing resolute measures if the U.S. continues to "substantially" harm China's interests.

Huang, speaking at the annual Computex event in Taipei, said Nvidia's market share in China dropped to 50% from 95% at the start of former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration.

(Reporting By Max Cherney and Wen-Yee Lee in Taipei; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Tom Hogue and Sonali Paul)