Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD) CEO Jensen Huang is planning to travel to China in late January 2026 amid renewed efforts by the company to regain access to the country’s artificial intelligence chip market, per a Bloomberg report.
According to the report, which cited a person with knowledge of the matter, Huang is expected to attend internal company events ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays and may also travel to Beijing, though meetings with senior Chinese officials have not been confirmed. The itinerary is not finalized and could change.
Nvidia declined to comment on the planned visit, Bloomberg said.
Huang has made similar Lunar New Year visits to China in previous years, reflecting Nvidia’s significant presence in the country. This year’s trip, however, comes amid heightened strategic importance, as Nvidia seeks to reopen what has historically been a multibillion-dollar market, while China accelerates efforts to build domestic semiconductor self-sufficiency.
The US government approved the export of Nvidia’s H200 AI graphics processing units to China on January 14. However, Beijing has moved quickly to impose its own restrictions, with China expected to grant only limited commercial approvals this quarter to companies such as Alibaba and Baidu, while barring use by the military, government agencies, and state-owned enterprises.
Wedbush analysts see Huang’s trip likely to involve “some politicking aimed at resuming shipments of NVDA technology to China.”
They added that, in their view, it makes sense that China will eventually restore access to US AI silicon for its technology companies, though the timing remains uncertain. The analysts noted that China’s hardware capabilities are constrained by chip production technology, particularly the lack of lithography equipment comparable to ASML’s EUV systems.
As a result, they believe China will eventually face a choice between supporting AI model and application initiatives or ceding the market, and they consider the former outcome “more likely.”
The analysts also said that if and when China resumes purchases of US silicon, it would be “a clear significant positive” for Nvidia and AMD, given the significant size of the Chinese market. They cautioned, however, that any upside demand could face bottlenecks because of “seemingly accelerating material shortages, particularly memory.”