By Evelyn Cheng
Publication Date: 2026-05-12 11:39:00
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) listens as Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang speaks in the Cross Hall of the White House during an event on “Investing in America” on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images
BEIJING — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said it would be “a great honor” to travel to China with Donald Trump. But he isn’t among the executives joining the U.S. president to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping — a sign the chipmaker’s sales in one of its most important markets are unlikely to recover soon.
Huang has visited China multiple times in the last 18 months, including a high-profile trip last summer, underscoring Nvidia’s efforts to maintain ties in a market that once accounted for at least a fifth of its data center revenue.
But he is absent from Trump’s closely watched visit this week, when more than a dozen U.S. executives will join the president, including chip company Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon, Tesla’s Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook. Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg is also part of the delegation, as the U.S. planemaker is expected to secure its first major Chinese order in years.
Nvidia’s most advanced chips, widely used for training AI models, have faced tighter U.S. restrictions on China sales over the last four years. The company said in February that U.S.-government-approved versions of the chips had yet to be allowed into China.
The U.S. chipmaker’s China sales are unlikely to recover anytime soon, experts told CNBC.
There would be “very little” for Nvidia…
