Nvidia CEO exit puts China's AI chip access back in Congress's sights
Chinese AI shares fell on Friday as investors weighed whether Jensen Huang's exit as Nvidia chief executive will harden Washington's stance on chip exports to China. AI model stocks Z.AI and MiniMax Group dropped 12% and 8.4%, while data centre suppliers Zhongji Innolight and Eoptolink Technology, both heavily reliant on US markets, fell more than 8%.
Huang stepped down after reports of a romantic relationship with a Chinese businesswoman, Alice Huang, whom US authorities suspect of spying for Beijing. She was an executive at Megaspeed, an Nvidia partner the US government suspects of helping China obtain advanced AI chips restricted under export controls. Beijing has denied she is a spy.
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said a consensus was building in Congress on limiting China's access to the technology. "The export controls on chips to China has been a big issue around here," the Louisiana Republican told reporters at the Capitol. "I think there's a developing consensus in Congress that is an important position to take." Congressional Republicans want new restrictions attached to the annual defence authorisation bill, a must-pass measure, according to a Senate aide who spoke on condition of anonymity. Lawmakers are also pushing at least four standalone bills, including the AI Overwatch Act, the Chip Security Act, the Match Act and the Remote Access Security Act.
Senior White House officials have discussed whether Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick should be pushed out, two people familiar with the situation said, amid criticism that the administration has refused to add dozens of Chinese companies to a US trade blacklist and questions over its oversight of Nvidia's China exports.
Sunny Cheung, an analyst at the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, said Huang's resignation is unlikely to end congressional scrutiny of Nvidia and could leave him more exposed to investigation. "Congress can still subpoena him and Nvidia should conduct an independent investigation to determine whether the problems extend beyond Huang," he said. Huang is expected to testify before Congress before Thanksgiving on November 26, with House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast saying staff had spoken to Nvidia about a date and location.
What it means for Pakistan: For Pakistan, the fight over Nvidia's China sales is a reminder of how quickly access to advanced computing can become a bargaining chip between Washington and Beijing. Pakistani firms and developers building AI products typically rely on rented cloud capacity abroad rather than direct chip purchases, so any US move to police remote access to Nvidia processors, as the proposed Remote Access Security Act would, could raise costs or complicate procurement for them. It also sharpens the case for Pakistan's regulators to set clear rules on cross-border data and computing services before such restrictions ripple outward.
