Topline
President Donald Trump said Nvidia chief Jensen Huang is flying with him on his official visit to China, along with several other prominent American CEOs, refuting earlier reports that the AI chipmaking CEO and billionaire—who recently lamented that U.S. export controls had wiped out his company’s market share in China—had not been invited.
Key Facts
In an interview last week, the Nvidia CEO refused to say if he had been invited to join the president on his trip, but added, “If invited, it would be a privilege, it would be a great honor to represent the United States.”
Trump’s post listed a dozen executives, who are joining him on the trip including Elon Musk and Tim Cook—who Trump again referred to as “Tim Apple”
The president said he intends to ask Chinese President Xi Jinping to “open up” to these companies so they can “work their magic,” push China to an “even higher level.”
Trump added that he intends to make this his “very first request” when the two leaders meet.
Tangent
According to a follow-up CNBC report, Trump called Huang and asked him to join the trip to China after seeing media coverage about the Nvidia chief’s exclusion. Citing an unnamed source “familiar with the situation,” the outlet reported that Huang flew to Alaska to board Air Force One. “Jensen is attending the summit at the invitation of President Trump to support America and the administration’s goals,” an Nvidia spokesperson told several outlets.
What Has Huang Said About Nvidia In The Chinese Market?
In an interview with the U.S. think tank Special Competitive Studies Project late last month, Huang was asked about Washington’s curbs on the sale of Nvidia’s most advanced chips to China. “Nvidia has… 90-some odd percent of the world’s market share today. In China, we have now dropped to zero. Conceding an entire market the size of China probably don’t make a lot of strategic sense and so I think that that has already largely backfired,” Huang said. He added that the policy may have made sense “at the time,” but it needs a rethink, and having U.S. chip companies in China “makes a lot of sense.”
Forbes Valuation
According to Forbes’ Real Time Billionaires list Huang’s current net worth is $190.6 billion, making him the seventh richest person in the world.
List Of All The Business Leaders Flying To China With Trump
Trump’s post mentioned the names of several business leaders joining him on the flight aside from Jensen, including:
- Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk
- Apple CEO Tim Cook
- Blackrock CEO Larry Fink
- Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzmann
- Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg
- Cargill Chair and CEO Brian Sikes
- Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser
- GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp
- Goldman Sachs Chair and CEO David Solomon
- Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra
- Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon
Although the president didn’t mention their names, Illumina CEO Jacob Thaysen, Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach, Visa CEO Ryan McInerney, Coherent CEO Jim Anderson and Meta President Dina Powell McCormick, are traveling to China with him.
Further Reading
Jensen Huang joins Trump’s China trip after the U.S. president called the Nvidia CEO (CNBC)
Trump Will Bring 5 Billionaires Worth A Combined $870 Billion On His China Trip (Forbes)
