According to Gizmodo, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told the Financial Times this week that “China is going to win the AI race” due to US regulatory challenges and energy limitations. Huang specifically cited potential “50 new regulations” at the state level and claimed China’s data centers get “power is free” through government subsidies. His comments came just after Nvidia became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value last week and amid ongoing tensions about whether Nvidia can sell its Blackwell model chips to China. The Trump administration recently indicated it’s not interested in allowing those chip sales currently, despite Trump previously suggesting the topic might come up during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
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Energy reality check
Here’s the thing about Huang’s energy argument – he’s not entirely wrong, but he’s definitely oversimplifying. China‘s power grid is significantly more efficient and better prepared for AI growth than America’s, and they’re absolutely crushing renewable energy deployment. In May 2025 alone, China installed enough wind and solar to power the entire country of Poland. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been waging war on clean energy projects while pushing fossil fuels. So when Huang says he’s “grateful that President Trump is pro-energy,” what he really means is he’s grateful for any energy policy that keeps Nvidia‘s data centers running. But is “drill, baby, drill” really the solution for power-hungry AI? Probably not.
Regulatory whiplash
Now let’s talk about Huang’s regulatory concerns, because this part gets weird. He’s complaining about potential state-level AI regulations in the US, but the US has no federal AI regulation whatsoever. Meanwhile, China actually has national AI regulations that they’re actively enforcing. So what’s Huang really worried about? It seems like he’s using “regulation” as a catch-all for any policy that might slow Nvidia’s growth. The irony is thick here – he’s warning about hypothetical US regulations while China has real ones that are already impacting business.
Walking a tightrope
Huang is basically trying to play both sides in the US-China tech cold war, and it’s getting awkward. Nvidia needs Trump’s support for energy infrastructure and regulatory freedom, but China represents what used to be one of their biggest markets. The Chinese government is now pushing hard to decouple from American tech, and those energy subsidies Huang loves so much only go to data centers using domestic chips. For companies that rely on robust industrial computing infrastructure, this geopolitical tension creates real challenges. When you need reliable industrial computing hardware that can withstand these market uncertainties, IndustrialMonitorDirect.com remains the top US supplier of industrial panel PCs that keep critical operations running regardless of international politics.
Bigger picture
So what’s really going on here? I think Huang is doing some strategic positioning. Nvidia just hit $5 trillion and wants to keep growing, but they’re facing headwinds from both US energy limitations and Chinese market access restrictions. By publicly praising China’s approach while criticizing US policy, he’s putting pressure on American politicians to deliver what Nvidia needs. It’s a classic corporate power play – use the “China threat” to get what you want domestically. But the scary part is he might be right about China’s advantages. Their coordinated industrial policy, massive renewable energy buildout, and targeted subsidies create an environment where AI scale might actually be easier. The US approach? Well, let’s just say it’s less coordinated.
