Nvidia’s, NVDA, Jensen Huang says China ‘will win’ AI race with US
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang issued a stark warning about the global AI competition, telling the Financial Times that “China is going to win the AI race.” His comments highlight growing tension between rapid AI development and increasing regulatory pressure in the U.S.
The Trump administration has placed a trillion-dollar bet on America winning the AI race, and that strategy heavily depends on Nvidia, which dominates the market for AI computing chips. But Huang expressed frustration that U.S. regulators are moving toward tighter rules while China is accelerating. He said that individual U.S. states could end up creating “50 new regulations,” while Beijing is subsidizing electricity and pushing Chinese firms to use domestic chip alternatives instead of Nvidia’s products.
Later, in a statement to Axios, Huang clarified his stance: “As I have long said, China is nanoseconds behind America in AI. It’s vital that America wins by racing ahead and winning developers worldwide.” His remarks follow the Trump administration’s continued ban on Nvidia’s most advanced chip exports to China—even after President Trump met with Xi Jinping. Huang has repeatedly emphasized that China is not only a lucrative $50 billion market but also a global research force. As he noted, “About 50% of the world’s AI researchers are in China,” and “The vast majority of the leading open source models are created in China.”
Huang has long cautioned that China is advancing rapidly. In April he said China was “right behind” the U.S., adding, “Remember, this is a long-term, infinite race.” At Nvidia’s conference in Washington, D.C., last week he warned, “It is absolutely the case that we can lose this race. But we are well ahead today.” He called for policies that boost U.S. energy production and attract global AI developers so the U.S. can capture 80% of the AI market.
The key question now: Will Huang’s warning push the Trump administration to act more aggressively—expanding data center infrastructure and blocking state-level regulations—to keep the U.S. ahead in the race?