Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has said he is “disappointed” by reports that China has ordered its leading technology firms to stop buying the company’s artificial intelligence chips.
The reported ban, said to have been issued by China’s Cyberspace Administration, comes despite an agreement earlier this year that allowed Nvidia to resume limited sales to the Chinese market.
Patient Response
Speaking to reporters in London, Huang struck a conciliatory tone, saying he would be “patient” in response to the move.
“There are a lot of places we can’t go to, and that’s fine,” he said. Huang added that he would “support the US” as it seeks to resolve geopolitical tensions, and would give the same message directly to President Donald Trump if asked.
Huang is one of several tech leaders, including Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, accompanying Trump on his state visit to the UK. The president is hosting a state banquet this week, which tech executives are expected to attend.
Background to the Dispute
Nvidia, the world’s most valuable chipmaker, had previously been banned from selling its most advanced products to China. Trump reversed that ban in July, but the company was required to pay 15% of its Chinese revenues to the US government under a rare compromise deal.
On Wednesday, the Financial Times reported that Chinese internet giants including DeepSeek, Tencent and Alibaba had been told to halt purchases of Nvidia’s chips, even those specifically designed for the Chinese market.
Shares in Nvidia fell more than 1% in pre-market trading following the news.
AI Rivalry
The company, which became the first in the world to reach a $4tn (£2.9tn) valuation earlier this year, has been central to the global AI boom, with its processors powering data centres worldwide.
But Beijing has set out ambitions to rival US dominance in AI by developing homegrown chips. The new reported restrictions underline the growing technology divide between the two powers.
UK Investment
Despite the setback in China, Nvidia has been among the US tech firms announcing major investments in Britain as part of a new UK-US “tech prosperity” pact. This includes supplying chips to the Stargate UK supercomputing project in north-east England, alongside OpenAI, Arm and NScale.
