Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang faces backlash from U.S. officials over China chip export debate

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has drawn sharp criticism from officials in the Trump administration who view his company's chips as enabling China's artificial-intelligence development. Huang, who has long advocated for broader export of U.S. technology, argued in a podcast with venture capitalists Bill Gurley and Brad Gerstner that the label “China hawk” should be considered a badge of shame and that its bearers are not patriotic.

The remarks prompted a response from former Congressional defense staffer Eric Sayers, managing director of Beacon Global Strategies, who wrote that China hawks are “patient and have long memories.” The comment resurfaced on November 2, shortly before reports emerged that Huang had an affair with a woman alleged to be a Chinese intelligence operative and that a Singapore-based AI data-center firm, Megaspeed, might be diverting Nvidia chips to China.

According to sources, senior officials linked to the National Security Council – including Ivan Kanapathy, senior director for Asia, and Tarun Chhabra, former deputy assistant to the president and technology-national-security coordinator – have been vocal opponents of chip sales to China. Chhabra now works for Anthropic, which has likened the practice to selling nuclear weapons to North Korea and accused Chinese AI firms of intellectual-property theft.

Nvidia, the White House, the Commerce Department, the State Department, the National Security Council, Senator Marco Rubio and Beacon Global did not immediately comment. Investigators will determine whether any espionage or wrongdoing occurred, but the controversy has already reduced Nvidia's market value by roughly $280 billion. The company now faces a board investigation, shareholder lawsuits, congressional inquiries and the prospect of further disclosures as export-control legislation moves forward in the National Defense Authorization Act.