Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang said he met with U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss chip export controls, telling reporters he remains uncertain whether China would accept the company's more advanced H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips even if the Trump administration eases restrictions. The meeting comes as the administration weighs whether to allow sales of the H200 processor to China, marking a potential shift in U.S. semiconductor export policy.

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Huang, speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol, said he and Trump talked about export controls but declined to provide specifics. When asked whether Chinese authorities would allow domestic companies to purchase the H200 chips, Huang expressed doubt: "We don't know. We have no clue. We can't degrade chips that we sell to China, they won't accept that."

The uncertainty reflects China's response to Nvidia's current offerings. This summer, Nvidia won approval to sell its less-powerful H20 chip, designed to fall below existing export limits, but China promptly told potential domestic customers to shun the product and rely instead on processors made by Chinese companies.

During an Oval Office event Wednesday, Trump sidestepped questions about export controls but praised Huang as doing "an amazing job." When pressed on whether he had made his views clear to Huang, Trump said: "He knows."

Trump Admin. Weighs H200 Export Policy

The discussions follow November reports that Trump administration officials were considering whether to allow the H200 to be sold in China. Allowing such sales would mark a significant win for the world's most valuable company, which has pressed the Trump administration and Congress for a relaxation of export controls that keep Nvidia from selling its AI chips in the world's second-largest economy.

The H200, which began shipping to customers last year, is designed to both train and run AI models, and is estimated to be twice as powerful as Nvidia's H20 chip, currently the most advanced AI semiconductor legally exportable to China. Any easing of export restrictions would be deemed as a significant shift from policies imposed starting in 2022 to keep Beijing and its military from accessing the most powerful US technologies.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has previously said that the final decision on the chips would rest with Trump. More recent efforts by Nvidia to win US permission to export a hobbled version of its most advanced Blackwell-generation chip failed to materialize during an October meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Huang Scores Lobbying Win on GAIN AI Act

Huang's visit came as Nvidia neared a major lobbying win in Congress, where lawmakers kept a provision out of must-pass defense legislation that would have limited the company's ability to sell advanced AI chips to China and other adversary nations. The so-called GAIN AI Act would have required chipmakers, including Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD), to give American customers first dibs on their powerful AI chips before selling in China and other arms-embargoed countries.

The proposal isn't expected to be part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a defense legislation set to be passed this Friday, according to Bloomberg’s sources on Wednesday. Huang called it "wise" that the measure is being left out, telling reporters the GAIN AI Act would be "even more detrimental to the United States than the AI Diffusion Act."

Republican Senator Mike Rounds acknowledged Nvidia's desire to compete globally after a closed-door Banking Committee meeting with Huang. "They want the customers around the world," Rounds said. "We understand that. And at the same time, we're all concerned, including Jensen, with regard to having restrictions on what goes to China."

Congressional Opposition to Expanded China Sales

Any easing of export restrictions would provoke sharp opposition from national-security hawks in Washington who have favored export controls as a way to keep adversaries like China from gaining ground in the AI race. Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Banking Committee, has warned that allowing sales of the H200 to China would "turbocharge China's military and undercut American technological leadership."

In a letter Wednesday to Lutnick, Warren urged the administration to maintain limits on sales of Nvidia's advanced AI chips to China. "We should not allow Big Tech firms like Nvidia to sell sensitive technology to governments that do not share our values," Warren wrote, in a letter co-signed by fellow Democrat Andy Kim.

Warren also criticized Huang's closed-door Capitol Hill meetings. "Mr Huang should be brought in to testify publicly and under oath – not pushing his agenda in secret meetings," Warren said.

Huang has forged a close relationship with Trump since the November election and has used those ties to make his case that restrictions only boost China's domestic champions like Huawei Technologies Co. Asked how often he's in Washington, Huang said: "Whenever President Trump would like me to be here."

Last month, Huang said China represented a $50 billion market for his company, though for now Nvidia has excluded data center revenue from the Asian nation from its financial forecasts. "We would love the opportunity to be able to reengage the Chinese market," he said in a Bloomberg Television interview.