Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang did not attend Donald Trump’s January 20, 2025 inauguration. On January 17, Huang said he would be traveling to celebrate Lunar New Year with Nvidia employees and their families. He subsequently appeared at company events involving staff and customers in Shenzhen and Beijing, where reports said he thanked China-based employees for their loyalty.
That makes “chooses China over Trump” a shorthand for a scheduling decision, not proof that Huang was making an anti-Trump statement or taking Beijing’s side. The trip combined employee morale, customer relationships and Nvidia’s effort to remain commercially engaged in China while U.S. export controls restricted advanced AI-chip sales.
What Huang actually said
Speaking in Taipei on January 17, 2025, Huang said he would not attend Trump’s inauguration and would instead be “on the road” celebrating Lunar New Year with Nvidia employees and their families. Reuters reported that he was expected to visit Beijing for an Nvidia company event. Reuters report carried by Investing.com
That is the verifiable explanation in the public record. It does not establish that Huang rejected Trump personally, objected to the inauguration or preferred China’s political system.
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What happened in China
Events in Shenzhen and Beijing
Coverage showed Huang meeting Nvidia employees and customers in Shenzhen and Beijing during the Lunar New Year period. Reports of the Beijing gathering described him thanking China-based staff and praising their contribution during a difficult period for the company’s local business. South China Morning Post coverage
The “loyalty” message is best understood as an internal corporate and retention message. Nvidia’s China employees were working amid tighter U.S. restrictions, uncertainty over which products could be sold locally and stronger competition from Chinese alternatives. Nothing in the cited reporting shows that Huang was describing loyalty to the Chinese government.
The January trip was not a diplomatic announcement
Available January reporting emphasized employees and customers. It does not establish meetings with Chinese officials, a lobbying mission or a change in Nvidia’s export-policy position. Visiting China could serve several business purposes at once—reassuring staff, maintaining customer ties and signaling that Nvidia still regarded the market as important—but those are strategic interpretations rather than stated objectives.
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Why the timing mattered to Nvidia
By January 2025, U.S. rules were limiting sales of advanced AI chips to China. The controls were designed to restrict computing capacity that could support advanced artificial-intelligence and military capabilities. Nvidia therefore had to manage a conflict between Washington’s national-security priorities and the commercial importance of Chinese customers, developers and employees.
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China was not simply an overseas sales office. It was a technology ecosystem in which Nvidia had customers, software developers, startups and a substantial workforce. A visible Lunar New Year appearance allowed Huang to address that ecosystem without implying that U.S. restrictions had disappeared.
How large was Nvidia’s China operation?
The following figures were reported in January 2025 coverage and describe historical conditions, not Nvidia’s current 2026 results. The workforce and turnover figures were secondary-reported company numbers; the revenue figure was also reported by secondary coverage.
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| Measure | Reported figure | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| China revenue | $5.4 billion | Fiscal Q3 2024 figure reported by GizmoChina; reported as up 34% year over year. |
| China workforce | Nearly 4,000 employees | Reported as having grown by more than 50%; historical company figure cited by GizmoChina. |
| Employee turnover | 0.9% | China figure reported in secondary coverage, compared with a 2% global average; not independently audited in the cited material. |
GizmoChina’s January 20, 2025 report contains these attributed figures. They should not be presented as current revenue, headcount or turnover.
Did Huang take China’s side against Trump?
The evidence does not support that conclusion. Skipping an inauguration is not the same as opposing the president, and an employee visit is not an endorsement of Chinese government policy.
Huang’s actions afterward point to a balancing strategy. On January 31, 2025, Trump met Huang at the White House, showing that the CEO continued to engage directly with the new administration. Associated Press report
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Nvidia needed to maintain relationships on both sides:
- Washington: comply with U.S. export controls and address national-security concerns.
- China: retain employees, customers, developers and market relevance.
- Investors: protect a significant source of historical revenue while regulatory limits changed the products Nvidia could offer.
- Local competition: respond to incentives for Chinese customers to develop or buy domestic alternatives.
That is more accurately described as commercial diplomacy than as a political rupture.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do not confuse the January and April 2025 visits
Huang returned to Beijing in April 2025 after the United States restricted sales of Nvidia’s H20 AI chips to China. Reuters reported that he again emphasized China’s importance as a market. This was a separate trip and should not be used as evidence of what happened during the inauguration period. Reuters report carried by Investing.com
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| Date | Event | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| January 17, 2025 | Huang said he would miss the inauguration and celebrate Lunar New Year with employees and families. | His stated reason for being away. |
| January 20, 2025 | Reported Nvidia gatherings in Shenzhen and Beijing. | Employee and customer engagement during the holiday period. |
| January 31, 2025 | Huang met Trump at the White House. | No evidence of a lasting break with Washington. |
| April 2025 | Huang made a separate Beijing visit after new H20 restrictions. | Continued attention to China’s market under changing export rules. |
What the visit did—and did not—change
What it likely signaled
- Nvidia remained committed to its China employees and local relationships.
- Huang considered in-person morale and retention important during regulatory uncertainty.
- China continued to matter to Nvidia’s commercial and technological ecosystem.
What it did not establish
- It did not remove or relax U.S. export controls.
- It did not guarantee Chinese customers unrestricted access to Nvidia’s most advanced chips.
- It did not prove that Huang was protesting Trump or siding with Beijing.
- It did not demonstrate that the visit itself preserved Nvidia’s China revenue.
The defensible reading of the headline
Huang chose a China-based employee and business engagement over attending Trump’s inauguration. The public record supports that scheduling fact and the importance of the China operation. It does not support turning the decision into a claim of ideological preference.
The episode is best understood as a snapshot of Nvidia’s balancing act: a U.S. company subject to Washington’s technology controls, yet still dependent on relationships with Chinese employees, customers and developers. Huang’s later White House meeting makes the practical objective clear—keep both channels open.
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