Nvidia’s recent earnings report delivered strong results, but CEO Jensen Huang continues to miss the message on chip export controls aimed at cutting off China’s access to key AI technology. The controversy highlights the ongoing debate about U.S. policy and its impact on national security.
Huang recently criticized US export controls on AI chips, calling them a “failure” that has pushed Chinese firms to innovate faster and intensify competition. However, this criticism is misplaced, as the policies were never designed to protect Nvidia’s commercial interests in China but rather to safeguard leading-edge technologies and delay diffusion for as long as possible.
Historically, foreign firms have dominated temporarily before being displaced by local competitors. Nvidia’s arc in China follows a familiar pattern, with the company experiencing significant growth despite facing export controls. Its latest results showed overall revenue grew by 69% during the quarter, driven by soaring demand across the US, Europe, and Gulf States.
The real risk is not that these policies have failed but rather that their momentum could be disrupted by policy discontinuity or shifting priorities in Washington. Nvidia should focus on competing against China in other markets and stop focusing on its diminishing market share in China.
US semiconductor policy is about protecting America’s strategic edge in a high-stakes geopolitical contest, not just one firm’s earnings or market access. The challenge ahead is to defend foundational technologies that define the future of power, sometimes requiring stepping back from markets that were never going to remain open anyway.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/29/nvidia-earnings-ceo-jensen-huang-china-export-control-failure.html