Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has criticized the United States’ restrictions on selling its H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) to China.

Speaking at the Computex 2025 trade show in Taipei, Huang expressed concerns about the impact of these restrictions on Nvidia and the broader AI ecosystem.

The restrictions, initially introduced by the Trump administration, have significantly affected Nvidia’s operations.

Huang said that the company wrote off approximately US$5.5 billion in inventory and lost an estimated US$15 billion in potential sales to China.

Huang argued that limiting access to the H20 chips would not stop China from advancing its AI capabilities.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Export controls historically yield mixed results for national security objectives

US restrictions on China’s tech sector have repeatedly demonstrated the challenges of achieving strategic goals through export controls.

The US government previously targeted Fujian Jinhua, a state-owned Chinese chipmaker, with export restrictions in 2018, citing national security concerns similar to today’s Nvidia case 1.

These earlier restrictions were also designed to slow China’s technological advancement, yet China’s semiconductor industry continued growing, with the country investing heavily in domestic capabilities through initiatives like “Made in China 2025” 1.

Nvidia’s situation reflects a persistent challenge for policy makers: despite export controls, China has demonstrated resilience by developing workarounds, such as optimizing less powerful chips for AI applications as noted by Brookings Institution research 2.

The Semiconductor Industry Association has long warned that narrowly targeted controls are necessary to avoid unintended consequences on US competitiveness, suggesting that overly broad restrictions can weaken American leadership 3.

Jensen Huang’s criticism that blocking H20 chips won’t stop China’s AI development aligns with historical patterns showing that technological advancement often finds alternative paths around regulatory barriers.

2️⃣ Financial ripple effects of tech restrictions extend far beyond direct sales

Nvidia’s experience illustrates how export controls create cascading financial impacts throughout technology ecosystems.

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