AI-fuelled optimism casts light on recent China-US thaw, but the shadow of tariffs continues to haunt businesses

On his third trip to China in a year, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang – head of the world’s most valuable company – was on a full-blown charm offensive.

As a guest of honour at the China International Supply Chain Expo, Huang’s visit underscored the recent thaw in Sino-US relations. Upon arrival, he announced Washington had cleared the way for Nvidia to export the H20 – a made-for-China AI chip less powerful than its gold-standard acceleration model, which was banned for export to the country in April.

His charisma and optimism were on display after China and the US agreed on a framework in trade negotiations and pushed ahead with approvals for certain technology and rare earth exports.

Led by Nvidia, US firms were the largest overseas contingent at the expo – with participation up 15 per cent compared to the previous edition.