U.S. President Donald Trump (L) listens as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks within the Cross Corridor of the White Home throughout an occasion on “Investing in America” on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Pictures
The China-U.S. commerce warfare within the first Donald Trump administration noticed Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner go on a appeal offensive with the president whereas sustaining robust relations with Beijing.
Apple averted U.S. tariffs and continued to develop in China, whereas Prepare dinner earned the popularity as a talented coverage navigator and distinguished American enterprise envoy to Beijing.
However, in Trump 2.0, not solely has Apple misplaced its crown to Nvidia as America’s most dear firm, a number of tech pundits say the AI darling’s charismatic chief, Jensen Huang, has left Prepare dinner far behind in political affect.
“Huang has develop into a worldwide determine and brought on a brand new function politically attributable to his success within the AI revolution,” stated Wedbush’s Dan Ives, including that the significance of Nvidia’s AI chips has “vaulted him forward of Prepare dinner.”
“He has discovered himself in a really robust place to navigate the political panorama … [as] there is just one chip on the planet fueling the AI revolution, and that is Nvidia’s,” Ives stated.
The optics of Huang’s political ascendancy have by no means been stronger, as Nvidia final week introduced throughout its CEO’s newest go to to Beijing that it anticipated to quickly resume gross sales of its H20 AI chips to China.
Huang’s ‘historic’ week
The exports of the H20 chip to China had been restricted earlier this yr — a transfer that Huang overtly lobbied in opposition to.
“It was a historic win for Nvidia and Jensen … and I believe it reveals the growing political affect that Huang’s having throughout the Trump administration,” Ives stated. Huang had met with Trump in DC proper earlier than his China go to.
The H20 reversal has been linked to commerce negotiations between the U.S. and China. Nevertheless, a number of specialists informed CNBC that Huang’s lobbying performed a big function in it.
The Nvidia CEO has met with Trump many occasions this yr, together with becoming a member of him on a visit to the Center East in Might, which resulted in a large AI deal that may see the supply of tons of of 1000’s of Nvidia’s superior AI chips to the United Arab Emirates.
The Emirates deal had been seen as a means for America to push its world tech management, solidifying its expertise stack in a brand new market over potential rivals like China’s Huawei.
After the journey, Huang more and more started making a case in opposition to U.S. chip restrictions, arguing that they might erode America’s tech management to the advantage of home Chinese language gamers.
In accordance with a report from the New York Occasions, this had additionally been a story Huang had been pushing to Trump and his officers behind the scenes.
Paul Triolo, senior vp for China and expertise coverage lead at DGA-Albright Stonebridge Group, informed CNBC that Huang’s arguments aligned with the considering of influential White Home AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks, additional swaying the administration to raise restrictions on H20 chip exports.
“Sacks and Huang each argue that limiting exports of U.S. expertise corresponding to choose and non-cutting-edge GPUs to China dangers pushing Chinese language firms to make use of home alternate options … On the finish of the day, this argument doubtless carried the day on the H20 problem,” he stated.
It is unclear when or if Nvidia will restart manufacturing strains of the H20, but when Nvidia is solely capable of promote current shares of the chips, it can nonetheless be a “important income increase and useful to Nvidia when it comes to retaining shoppers’ goodwill in China,” Triolo added. Nvidia stated it took a $4.5 billion writedown on its unsold H20 stock in Might.
Huang stated final week that each civil AI mannequin ought to run on the U.S. expertise stack, “encouraging nations worldwide to decide on America,” as Nvidia introduced resuming H20 gross sales quickly.
Not Musk, not Prepare dinner
When Trump received his second presidential election in November, many had anticipated a unique tech CEO to carry probably the most affect on the administration and to behave as a bridge between the U.S. and China. However Tesla’s Elon Musk had a relatively public break-up with Trump.
In November, specialists informed CNBC that Musk’s shut ties to Trump and his enterprise pursuits in China may assist soften the president’s aggressive commerce stance towards Beijing, whereas cautioning in opposition to placing an excessive amount of inventory into the Tesla CEO.
In the meantime, underneath Trump’s second presidency, Apple’s Prepare dinner has seen some robust pushback from the administration.
In Might, Trump expressed a “little downside with Tim Prepare dinner” over Apple manufacturing merchandise in India, regardless of the iPhone maker’s dedication of a $500 billion funding within the U.S., introduced in February.
In response to the most recent commerce tensions between China and the U.S., Apple has accelerated efforts to de-risk provide chains from China by shifting extra iPhone manufacturing to India.
Earlier this month, Trump adviser Peter Navarro additionally criticized Prepare dinner, saying he was not shifting manufacturing out of China quick sufficient.
Apple and Prepare dinner have been seen as probably the most influential firm and CEO, respectively, within the first Trump administration, however now its Huang and Nvidia, stated Ray Wang, CEO of Silicon Valley-based Constellation Analysis. “Virtually all the things rides on Nvidia’s chips.”
Dangers stay
In accordance Triolo, whereas Huang has thus far been capable of “pretty deftly straddle each the U.S. authorities and China market” and “President Trump seems to be an enormous fan,” it stays unclear precisely the place the administration will draw the road on chip restrictions.
“The goalposts right here have been modified a number of occasions, inflicting important and expensive compelled redesigns and reserving capability,” he stated.
Regardless of Huang’s rising affect within the tech world and within the Trump administration, there is no such thing as a assure it can stay that means, different specialists stated.
“For the second, NVIDIA has gone from being the chief goal of chip controls to chief influencer. The query is, how lengthy will that second final?” stated Reva Goujon, a director at Rhodium Group.
The U.S. can also be presently finishing up an investigation on the semiconductor trade that might lead to sector-wide tariffs, and as soon as once more put the Trump administration’s goals at odds with Nvidia’s enterprise. Whereas Nvidia has been shifting extra manufacturing to the U.S., most of it stays in Taiwan.
Prepare dinner could supply a lesson on how difficult it may be to function a significant expertise enterprise that views each China and the U.S. as key markets.
