Voice of Urdu – International News in English & Urdu

Trump Heads to Shenzhen for APEC Summit Amid Nvidia China Scandal — AI-generated representative image: Shenzhen's skyline and a convention venue ahead of the APEC summit amid US-China tensions over semiconductor export controls.

Editorial Team

Nvidia's Jensen Huang scrutiny clouds US-China ties ahead of the Trump-Xi Jinping meeting on semiconductor export controls.

United States President Donald Trump travels to the Chinese city of Shenzhen next week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, where he is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping. The visit comes as Jensen Huang, Nvidia's outgoing chief executive and one of Trump's closest Silicon Valley allies, faces mounting scrutiny over his relationship with Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive whom US officials suspect of working for Chinese intelligence.

The timing of the scandal places a central question over the summit: whether Trump's closeness to Huang, whom he has publicly defended, could shift his administration toward a tougher line on Beijing. Analysts suggest the immediate impact will be limited, but the controversy feeds into a broader and growing congressional push for stricter enforcement of technology export controls.

Key Developments

Nvidia announced on Thursday that Huang would step down as chief executive. He had accompanied Trump on his May visit to Beijing, where his presence mattered for Nvidia, which has struggled to secure approval to sell its H200 AI chips in China. His place in the next delegation is now in doubt.

China has rejected the spy claims and accused Washington of using them as cover to impose stronger restrictions and semiconductor export controls. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday: "The US side should stop fabricating such 'spy' narratives as a pretext for imposing a technological blockade." Mao added that China is willing to work with the US to implement the consensus reached by the two leaders.

On Wednesday, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chris Coons asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House chief of staff Stephen Miller to preserve all records on Nvidia's chip exports to China.

How Huang Shaped the Chip Thaw

As founder and CEO of Nvidia, Huang pushed Washington to ease restrictions on the sale of advanced chips to China, arguing that wider use of US technology would help Washington retain its lead in AI development. In December 2025, Trump approved sales of the H200, Nvidia's second-most powerful chip, to China, with 25 percent of proceeds to be paid to the US government, despite opposition from China hawks in both parties.

Huang was a surprise late addition to Trump's Beijing delegation in May, in hopes of unlocking stalled H200 sales. Shipments remained low because of slow import approvals from the Chinese government in a bid to support domestic chipmakers, and no breakthrough was announced. Trump has stood by Huang throughout his recent personal scandal, calling him an "honourable guy."

Analyst Assessments and Evidence

Steve Okun, a Singapore-based geopolitical analyst, described relations between Washington and Beijing as "a stalemate at best," adding that Huang's removal and the scandal are unlikely to significantly affect ties. He said AI diversion and diffusion, how products are traded globally both formally and informally, would be more likely to cause tension if the US continues restricting AI product sales to China.

Gabriel Wildau, managing director at advisory firm Teneo, said Trump "shows no sign that he intends to disrupt the current US-China rapprochement," but warned the president "may face new pressure from Congress and hawkish voices inside his administration." Carsten Holz, an expert on the Chinese economy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said Huang's personal affairs "will be of little relevance" to China-US relations.

Procurement notices seen by the AFP news agency show that a Chinese university linked to the country's defence establishment bought Nvidia H200 chips through a third party in September and October. The news website Axios reported that Lutnick had held up a planned crackdown on firms suspected of funnelling Nvidia chips to China.

What Happens After Shenzhen

Okun expects pressure to build next year. He said Congress could pass the Remote Access Security Act, aimed at stopping Chinese firms from reaching advanced chips through the cloud, and that the Department of Commerce could put export controls on Megaspeed or require licences for advanced chips sent to countries such as Singapore and Malaysia.

If that happens, it will strain the US-China relationship in 2027, Okun said, adding that such measures are not expected next week. Shares in Moore Threads, MetaX and Cambricon, China's leading makers of graphics processors, jumped nearly 10 percent on Thursday.