Silicon shuttle: Is Jensen Huang the new Tim Cook for US-China relations?
Just days after shaking hands with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, Jensen Huang was on stage in Beijing in his signature leather jacket, grinning as he greeted a Chinese audience in fluent Mandarin.
On cue from a former Chinese commerce official, he struck an upbeat tone about shared futures and AI breakthroughs. Applause followed.
What he didn't say - but what everyone watching understood - was that Nvidia, the company he co-founded and now leads as CEO, had just pulled off a high-stakes diplomatic and commercial coup.
The Trump administration, in an abrupt reversal, had approved the sale of Nvidia's H20 chip to China, rescinding a ban that had threatened billions in revenue.
TL;DR: Driving the news
The Nvidia CEO secured US approval to resume sales of H20 AI chips to China, reversing a previous ban and safeguarding billions in revenue.
Huang has become a rare and effective intermediary between Washington and Beijing, using shuttle diplomacy to keep Nvidia in both markets.
The US chose to allow sales of less advanced chips to keep Chinese firms dependent on American technology, rather than ceding the market to Huawei.
Nvidia's global importance has soared, with its chips powering AI worldwide and the company now valued at over $4 trillion.
'I don't think I changed [Trump's] mind,' Huang said. 'It's my job to inform the president about what I know very well, which is the technology industry, artificial intelligence, the developments of AI around the world'.
Why it matters
Huang is fast emerging as a reluctant - and remarkably effective - emissary between Washington and Beijing. His cross-Pacific shuttle diplomacy has not only preserved Nvidia's access to a $17 billion Chinese market, but it's also made him the closest figure in today's tech world to Tim Cook's once-coveted role as corporate bridge between the world's two superpowers.
But this role comes with exponentially higher stakes.
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Undo
The H20 chip is less powerful than Nvidia's flagship models, but still valuable to Chinese AI firms desperate for access to cutting-edge silicon. When the Trump administration quietly blocked its export this spring, it was a gut punch: Nvidia stood to lose $5.5 billion in potential sales. Huang, normally averse to political trench warfare, sprang into action.
He testified before Congress, courted White House officials, and met directly with Trump.
According to the New York Times, he argued that banning Nvidia's chip would hand the market to Huawei and other Chinese rivals - undercutting US leadership in AI.
Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick later echoed that logic publicly, saying the administration wanted Chinese developers 'addicted to American technology,' even if that meant letting them buy older chips. It was a stunning reversal, and one that underscored Huang's emerging role not just as a CEO, but as a geopolitical actor.
'Huang is obviously on good terms with Trump administration. Yet his chip business is one of the biggest flashpoints between Beijing and Washington,' Feng Chucheng, a founding partner at Hutong Research, told Bloomberg.
The big picture
Nvidia, now the world's most valuable company at over $4 trillion, is at the heart of a new great power race: AI dominance.
Strategic leverage: Its chips fuel generative AI systems worldwide - including those built by Chinese firms that Washington fears could be repurposed for military uses.
Tightrope walk: The US wants to stay ahead technologically by curbing China's access to the most advanced semiconductors. But it also doesn't want to push China into full self-reliance - or let Huawei monopolize the world's largest tech market.
Enter Huang: Unlike Apple, Nvidia's business isn't deeply embedded in Chinese supply chains. That gives Huang unusual room to maneuver - and to push back.
What they're saying
'He's a skillful CEO who… must navigate the China and non-China technology ecosystems,' Kurt Tong, former US consul general in Hong Kong and a partner at the Asia Group, told Bloomberg
'He makes the same argument, even where it is unpopular,' Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital and major Nvidia investor, told the NYT. 'Because he believes… that winning developer mind-share in China and depriving Huawei of a monopoly market is the best way for American AI to win."
'Technology leadership requires big markets,' Huang told reporters in Beijing, noting that China has 'half the world's AI researchers'
A reluctant player in a high-stakes game
Huang, 62, didn't seek out this role. He has long described himself as an engineer, not a politician. In January, while most of Silicon Valley's elite gathered in Washington for Trump's inauguration, Huang was thousands of miles away, touring Nvidia's Asia operations.
That posture - politically agnostic, business-first - worked until his company's chips became central to the US-China tech rivalry.
Now, navigating that rivalry is part of his job. Nvidia, which controls more than 90% of the market for advanced AI chips, has become a critical player not just in the global tech economy, but in national security calculus on both sides of the Pacific.
Huang's challenge is unlike any faced by his Silicon Valley peers. Apple's Tim Cook rode a decade-long boom by embedding Apple deep into China's supply chain and retail markets. Elon Musk, once treated like a rock star by Beijing, has faded from favor amid his public feuding with Trump and Tesla's slipping China performance.
Huang's approach? Strategic ambiguity. Maintain good standing with both Washington and Beijing. Say little. Smile often. Speak Mandarin when needed. Shake the right hands.
'He's obviously on good terms with the Trump administration,' Feng Chucheng, founding partner of Hutong Research, told Bloomberg. 'Yet his chip business is one of the biggest flashpoints between Beijing and Washington. It's possible the two leaders may want such a channel for messaging, but is he willing to?'
So far, Huang's actions suggest he's willing - up to a point.
Zoom in: The Cook comparison
Like Cook during the Trump and Biden years, Huang is operating in a space where national security, trade, and technology policy blur.
Cook's era: Apple's China strategy delivered stunning financial results. Between 2012–2022, its profits in Greater China more than tripled.
But by 2023: iPhones were banned in Chinese government offices, Huawei roared back, and Cook's access seemed to fade.
Now: Apple remains deeply reliant on Chinese suppliers - 4 of its top 20 - while Nvidia's top 20 suppliers include none from China.
The Economist notes: 'Mr. Huang is not Mr Cook. He may lack the Alabamian's disarming lilt, but he seems more fluent both in MAGA and in Xi Jinping Thought.'
His statements - both in the US and China - are tailored for maximum compatibility:
To Trump: 'Manufacturing in the United States wouldn't have accelerated to this pace without the president's strong encouragement.'
To Beijing: 'AI research and development must be global, collaborative, and inclusive.'
What's next
A Trump-Xi summit is widely expected later this year. Behind the scenes, the two sides are weighing broader trade-offs: easing chip controls, expanding rare earth supplies, and potentially extending US-China tech cooperation.
The US commerce separtment's move to reapprove Nvidia's H20 chip sales came just as China agreed to supply rare earth magnets to American firms. Trump officials described the maneuver as a way to get Beijing 'addicted to the American technology stack' while keeping US firms in control.
Whether intentional or not, Huang helped deliver the talking points - and the outcome.
'We can only influence them, inform them, do our best to provide them with facts,' Huang said modestly. 'And then beyond that is out of our control'.
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