Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Joins Trump’s China Trip After Late Call-Up

Jensen Huang Joins Trump’s China Trip After Late Call-Up

Nvidia CEO Boarded Air Force One in Alaska After Missing Original List

Trump Says He Will Ask Xi to Open China’s Market

Hopes Rise for Resumption of H200 Shipments to China

Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang joined President Donald Trump’s trip to China after being added late to the itinerary. The move has revived hopes that Nvidia’s H200 chip shipments to China could resume, with US export restrictions on advanced artificial intelligence chips and Chinese purchase approvals both still in play.

Boarded Air Force One in Alaska

The New York Times reported on May 12 that Huang boarded Air Force One in Alaska.

Huang was not on the original list of business leaders accompanying the China trip released by the White House. As a result, he did not depart with Trump when Air Force One left Joint Base Andrews near Washington.

That changed later. After seeing media reports that Huang was not on board, Trump personally called the Nvidia CEO and asked him to join, according to the report. Huang then traveled to Alaska and boarded Air Force One there.

Trump later confirmed Huang’s presence on social media. “Jensen is on Air Force One right now,” he wrote. Trump called him “the great Jensen Huang” and said he would ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to open the Chinese market so “these brilliant people” could put their abilities to work.

The White House had earlier said 16 US business leaders would join the China trip, including Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook and BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink, both of whom have been pushing to expand business in China. Huang was not included on that list.

Hopes Build for H200 Supply to China

Huang’s addition drew attention because it coincides with Nvidia’s efforts to resume AI chip sales in China. He has recently been lobbying both the US and Chinese governments to allow the company to sell advanced AI chips there.

The Trump administration has generally restricted exports of high-performance AI chips such as the H200 to China. At the end of last year, however, Nvidia said the administration was prepared to ease some of those curbs if the company paid 25% of its profits as a fee.

China has also been a key variable. Beijing has delayed approvals for Chinese companies to buy H200 chips while sticking to a technology self-reliance policy that encourages the use of domestic chips. Nvidia has been waiting for licenses from both Washington and Beijing for months.

Reuters reported in March that, after US approval, Chinese authorities had approved H200 purchases by multiple Chinese companies. Huang also said earlier at a GTC 2026 press briefing that Nvidia had received purchase orders from several Chinese companies and was in the process of resuming H200 production for export.

That fueled expectations that Chinese approvals could allow limited AI chip shipments to the country to restart. Huang’s participation in Trump’s China trip added to that optimism.

Related stocks rallied in China on the day. Hopes for a resumption of AI chip supplies helped push the Shanghai Composite Index to its highest level since July 2015.

Opposition remains in the US. Some politicians argue that exports of Nvidia’s advanced AI chips to China could pose a risk to US national security.

The reason Air Force One stopped in Alaska was not officially explained. Still, US presidents have often used Alaska as a stopover when traveling to Asia.

Hong Min-seong, Hankyung.com reporter mshong@hankyung.com