China is reportedly considering relaxing restrictions on Nvidia chip exports, potentially allowing major tech firms like ByteDance and Alibaba to purchase millions more units over the next year. The move coincides with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's growing influence over President Trump's artificial intelligence policy, marking a significant shift from the Biden administration's strict export controls that had cut Nvidia's share of China's advanced AI chip market from approximately 95 per cent to zero. This development raises concerns among national security experts and lawmakers about whether Nvidia's commercial interests are unduly shaping US AI policy at a critical moment.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has asked Alibaba and ByteDance to outline plans for purchasing Nvidia's RTX Pro 5500 chips, with expectations that they would be integrated into servers supporting China's most advanced AI models. Trump's relationship with Huang transformed dramatically after a dinner at Mar-a-Lago, where Trump reportedly "learned the facts of life" about Nvidia's importance; the president subsequently lifted export controls on H200 chips and has since consulted regularly with Huang on technology matters. Stephen Witt, author of a biography about Huang, told NPR that Huang has become "the president's most influential adviser on technology issues" and that Trump's recent comments dismissing AI risks echo Huang's talking points—a concern shared by software developers at Anthropic and OpenAI, who are urging the White House to take such risks seriously.