On Monday, August 11, US President Trump mentioned the issue of Nvidia’s high-end chip Blackwell being exported to China, stating that strict conditions will be set for this.
The President confirmed on Monday that he had personally negotiated with Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang to reach an agreement allowing Nvidia to sell a low-end chip H20 in China. In exchange, 15% of the H20 chip sales revenue will be paid to the US government.
The President emphasized that the range of approved exported chips is limited at this time, only allowing H20 to be sold to China. He mentioned that he believes Jensen Huang will come to the White House again to discuss the export of Blackwell chips.
“We may also approve Blackwell chips, but it will be a lower-tier version of the most powerful Blackwell chip,” the President said.
Trump stated that if Nvidia could limit certain advanced features of its Blackwell chips, he would consider reaching an agreement with Nvidia to allow them to export Blackwell chips to China.
He mentioned in a briefing with reporters, “I might strike a deal for a ‘slightly weakened Blackwell’ processor.”
The President added that he wants Nvidia to reduce the performance of Blackwell chips supplied to China by 30% to 50%.
Nvidia’s Blackwell design is at the core of the most powerful computers used to create and run artificial intelligence software. Due to its powerful performance, these chips are restricted from being sold in China under US regulations.
Jensen Huang has long been lobbying the US government to lift export restrictions, believing that blocking China will only slow down the spread of US technology and encourage the development of domestic competitors like Huawei.
This agreement between Trump and Nvidia comes against the backdrop of US government efforts over the years to restrict China’s access to cutting-edge US semiconductor technology, driven by concerns that advanced AI processors could enhance China’s military capabilities.
Since 2022, Washington has been implementing export controls on such chips, which have greatly impacted US chip manufacturers, especially industry leaders like Nvidia.
The President stated that Nvidia’s H20 chip is “outdated”, but still holds commercial viability. Meanwhile, Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. has already developed similar products.