Huang warns US chip curbs risk China AI lead
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says U.S. export limits and a swelling regulatory push could let China pull ahead in AI—urging pro‑innovation policies to win developers and stay on top.
Key points
- Huang warns China could overtake the U.S. in next‑gen AI without a policy pivot that accelerates innovation.
- He argues Washington’s swelling regulatory push risks slowing progress amid China’s pro‑AI support measures.
- U.S. bans on Nvidia’s most advanced chips remain in place, while China imposes its own restrictions.
- America’s best path: “race ahead” by winning global developers and talent, Huang says.
A sharper warning from Nvidia’s chief
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang has warned that U.S. export limits and a swelling regulatory push could hand China the upper hand in artificial intelligence, marking a sharper tone than his comments just a week earlier.
Speaking at the Financial Times summit in London, Huang said China is poised to overtake the United States in next‑generation AI unless Washington pivots to policies that accelerate innovation and attract global developers. He argued that Western skepticism toward AI is slowing progress, while Beijing is pressing ahead with support measures at home, including energy subsidies to power AI buildouts.
However, several hours after the FT published its report, Nvidia issued a separate statement from Jensen on an official X account.
“Race ahead” by winning developers
Huang told Axios in a separate interview that China trails the U.S. by only a slim margin, and that America’s best path to maintaining leadership is to “race ahead” by winning developers worldwide.
His remarks highlight frustration with a wave of potential new rules in the U.S., which he suggested could number in the dozens and create headwinds for AI development.
Export controls set the backdrop
The shift in tone comes after the Trump administration chose to keep in place a ban on selling Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips to China, despite a recent meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Washington has said the curbs are intended to prevent military advantages from flowing to Beijing. China, meanwhile, has imposed its own restrictions on foreign AI chips.
China’s momentum and a deep talent base
Huang’s latest comments contrast with his note of confidence just last week at an Nvidia event in Washington, D.C., where he said the U.S. led the field but could still lose its edge. For months, he has emphasized the strategic importance of the Chinese market to global AI progress, describing the competition as a long, open‑ended race.
He has also pointed to China’s deep talent base—estimating that roughly half of the world’s AI researchers are there—and said many leading open‑source models originate in the country, underscoring why American tech firms seek access to that ecosystem.
Nvidia’s central role despite curbs
Top‑tier Nvidia processors, including the Blackwell line, are currently unavailable in China under U.S. rules. Even so, Nvidia remains central to AI development worldwide, and the company’s market value recently climbed to about $5 trillion, making it the first to reach that milestone.
Policy stakes
Huang’s warning adds urgency to a policy debate in Washington: whether tighter export controls strengthen national security without undermining technological leadership. His message is clear—America’s best chance to stay ahead is to foster an environment that accelerates development and attracts the world’s AI talent and builders.
Bottom line
Huang’s stance has shifted from cautious optimism to a more pointed warning: without a pro‑innovation pivot, the U.S. risks ceding the AI lead to China. The playbook he prescribes is simple—move faster, welcome developers, and keep the flywheel of experimentation and deployment spinning at home.
