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Nvidia's China chip share hits zero, erasing $50B.

5/20/2026

30 5 Full Breakdown

Summary

Nvidia Loses China

Nvidia’s China chip share fell from 95% before 2022 to 0%, erasing $50 billion.
CEO Jensen Huang told Bloomberg on May 18 that China will open its market, yet no H200 shipped.
Ten Chinese firms, including Alibaba and Tencent, may each buy up to 75,000 H200 units, but none were delivered.
Nvidia will report Q1 earnings after market close on May 20, expecting zero China data-center revenue.

Summary

Huang Predicts Imports

Jensen Huang said he expects China will eventually allow Nvidia AI chip imports.
He noted Taiwan will remain one of the epicenters of semiconductor manufacturing.
Huang explained China must balance protecting its domestic market with expanding AI capacity, a choice that will shape sales.
He said Nvidia is reshoring production to meet AI demand, noting H200 talks were raised during a delegation led by U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing.

Summary

Nvidia Export Halt

The Trump administration allowed Nvidia H200 chip sales to China only if a 25 % export fee was applied.
China blocked imports of U.S. AI chips to develop its own semiconductor industry.
Chinese firms initially ordered the H200 but later told Nvidia they could not complete the purchases.
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said H200 exports were halted because of Chinese policy.

Summary

Xi Warns Taiwan

Dell said memory-chip shortages, driven by agent-software demand, are the biggest AI bottleneck and that building new factories takes years, creating a decade-long challenge for Nvidia.
Xi warned President Donald Trump that mishandling Taiwan could spark conflict during their meeting.
Huang, not involved in the official U.S.–China talks on Taiwan, noted that Taiwan will remain a key semiconductor hub despite U.S. reshoring.

History

Historical Context

In August 2018 the U.S. NDAA barred Huawei and ZTE from federal use; on 15 May 2019 the Commerce Department added Huawei to the Entity List, stopping U.S. chip sales. The move cut Huawei’s Q2 2019 smartphone shipments by 30% and erased $10 billion in revenue. Jensen Huang says the 25% tariff on Nvidia’s H200 AI chips mirrors shock, driving China toward home-grown AI silicon.

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Nvidia Loses China

Nvidia’s China chip share fell from 95% before 2022 to 0%, erasing $50 billion.
CEO Jensen Huang told Bloomberg on May 18 that China will open its market, yet no H200 shipped.
Ten Chinese firms, including Alibaba and Tencent, may each buy up to 75,000 H200 units, but none were delivered.
Nvidia will report Q1 earnings after market close on May 20, expecting zero China data-center revenue.

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