Guess who is in Beijing today?
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang boarded a private jet to Beijing shortly after the U.S. Commerce Department announced new export licensing requirements for the company's H20 AI chips for the Chinese market. Once there, Huang met with the head of a Chinese state-backed trade body, where he reaffirmed Nvidia's commitment to the Chinese market despite a deepening trade war.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that Huang met earlier today in Beijing with Ren Hongbin, president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade — a trade agency under the Ministry of Commerce.
CCTV noted that Huang arrived in Beijing under the invitation of Hongbin's state-backed trade group.
Huang emphasized that China remains an important market for Nvidia and expressed hope for continued cooperation with Beijing.
Another state-backed news agency, China News Service, released footage of Huang and Hongbin speaking.
"We've grown up in China, in fact. And China has watched us grow in the last 30 years. It's a very important market for us," Huang said.
Huang's flight to China comes a little more than a day after the U.S. Commerce Department said Nvidia will need a license to export its H20 chips to China and several other countries. Nvidia revealed that it would be hit with a charge of up to $5.5 billion related to the controls.
So what message does this show? Huang jets off to Beijing. Should the world's largest chip maker be this cozy with America's foreign adversary?