NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Photo: VCG

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has argued that access to the Chinese market is essential for US competitiveness in artificial intelligence (AI), noting that US export restrictions have brought Nvidia's chip sales to China to a standstill, with zero sales expected for the next two quarters, US media outlet Fox Business reported on Thursday local time. 

A Chinese expert said on Friday that Huang's remarks underscore his anxiety about being shut out of the Chinese market due to US restrictions and reflect Nvidia's hope that Washington will eventually ease restrictions so that the company can remain fully engaged in this crucial market.

In an interview on FOX Business Network, Huang said the US must regain access to the Chinese market to maintain its global standing, according to the report.

"It is clear that we really need America to go back into the Chinese market to be able to compete there," Huang was quoted as saying. "It's good for the American people. It's good for the American tech stack. It's also good that [we're] able to compete in China so that we could also win around the world."

According to the report, Huang noted that greater access to US technology would also benefit China." It's good for their ecosystem," he said. "It's good for their industry, and so, somehow, we're going to continue to advocate and inform both governments."

Notably, the Nvidia CEO spoke directly about the grave impact of the US restrictions on its sales in China.

"I'm forecasting China's sales to be zero. It's zero for the next quarter, zero for the quarter after that," Huang was quoted as saying. "We're assuming it's going to be zero. If we're able to break through on both sides of the ocean and with both governments, of course, China is going to a very large market."

"It is really unfortunate that the American companies can't participate in that. It's a very significant source of revenue," Huang said, per the report. "That revenue would allow us to invest even stronger, even faster, and so I hope that we'll have the opportunity to go back in. But, at the moment, we just have to assume it's zero."

China represents a roughly $50 billion AI chip market, which could grow to as much as $200 billion by the end of the decade, according to Huang, FOX Business reported.

Ma Jihua, a veteran telecom industry observer, told the Global Times on Friday that Huang's recent remarks reflect a long-running anxiety about losing the Chinese market. Beyond revenue concerns, Huang likely fears the deeper strategic blowback: exclusion from China could erode Nvidia's leadership just as China accelerates AI deployment, intellectual-property output and manufacturing-driven iteration, the expert said. 

If Nvidia is forced to pull back, it will inevitably yield room for new competitors, and China's fast-growing market ensures domestic chipmakers will quickly fill any gaps, upgrade their technology and gain scale advantages. Those players could then expand globally, squeezing Nvidia's market share and weakening its cost competitiveness, according to Ma. 

According to Ma, Huang's rising sense of urgency reflects Nvidia's desire to remain engaged in the Chinese market and its hope that Washington will ease restrictions.