Nvidia CEO makes surprise trip to China as House probes whether it violated chip sale rules
Nvidia boss Jensen Huang reportedly met with the founder of DeepSeek on Thursday during a surprise trip to Beijing – just one day after a House committee revealed a probe into whether the chip giant violated strict export rules by selling to China.
Huang’s meeting with DeepSeek boss Liang Wenfeng included talks related to “new chip designs for Chinese customers,” the Financial Times reported, citing two sources familiar with his schedule. The Nvidia CEO also met separately with China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng and other top trade officials.
The visit was covered heavily by Chinese state media, which reported that Huang had stressed the importance of China’s market for the company’s success.
“We hope to continue to cooperate with China,” Huang said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Huang’s trip to Beijing could further stoke concern on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers have already expressed fears that Nvidia’s advanced chips have helped DeepSeek and other Chinese firms catch up to the US in the AI race.
“We regularly meet with government leaders to discuss our company’s products and technology,” an Nvidia spokesperson said. In response to the probe, the company has said it is following the US government’s directions “to the letter.”
Nvidia shares were down more than 3% on Thursday.
The company’s stock has plunged about 25% since the start of the year alongside broader market turmoil related to President Trump’s tariffs.
Many experts, including Trump administration AI czar David Sacks and Elon Musk, have questioned DeepSeek’s claim that it trained its AI model for less than $6 million and without access to Nvidia’s most advanced chips.
On Wednesday, the House Select Committee on China revealed it is probing whether Nvidia’s chip sales to Asia violated US rules.
The panel also labeled DeepSeek a “profound threat” to US national security that “utilizes tens of thousands of [Nvidia] chips that are currently restricted from export to the PRC.”
Earlier this week, the Trump administration took the unexpected step of restricting sales of Nvidia’s H20 computer chips to China.
The less-powerful chip was specifically created to skirt existing US export controls on more advanced designs.
Nvidia said it expected to take a $5.5 billion hit as a result of the fresh ban.
Scrutiny over Nvidia’s operations has accelerated against the backdrop of Trump’s escalating trade war with China.
The president has slapped total tariffs of 145% on imports from China.
Beijing has retaliated with 125% tariff on US goods.
