US President Donald Trump lashed out at US news outlets for inaccurately reporting that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was not invited to the high-stakes two-day China summit this week. The MAGA leader furiously unloaded his thoughts in a social media post on Tuesday (US time), accusing CNBC of pushing “fake news” about his ties with the billionaire executive, who has positioned himself as the president’s close advisor on artificial intelligence.
Trump’s ire was sparked by CNBC’s claims that the US president had a change of heart after media coverage highlighted Huang’s absence from the US business delegation, including Tesla’s Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook. In the lead-up to Trump’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, Reuters cited a White House official, revealing a list of top US executives meant to accompany Trump to Beijing. The purported invite list conspicuously omitted any mention of Nvidia’s billionaire CEO.
However, Trump has now flipped the narrative, which US media reports had guided so far, asserting that a supposed lack of invitation was never an issue.
Trump slams ‘fake news’ about Jensen Huang’s invitation to China
Fuming at CNBC, the US president wrote on Truth Social that the media outlet “incorrectly reported that the Great Jensen Huang, of Nvidia, was not invited to the incredible gathering of the World’s Greatest Businessmen/women proudly going to China.”
He continued, “In actuality, Jensen is currently on Air Force One and, unless I ask him to leave, which is highly unlikely, CNBC’s reporting is incorrect or, as they say in politics, FAKE NEWS!”
Setting the record straight, he emphasised that it was an “honour” to have the Nvidia CEO, Tesla’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, Boeing’s CEO Kelly Ortberg, Citigroup’s CEO Jane Fraser, Cargill’s Chairperson Brian Sikes, General Electric’s CEO H. Lawrence “Larry” Culp, Goldman Sachs’ CEO David Solomon, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Qualcomm’s CEO and President Christiano Amon and many others on board the presidential aircraft and journeying to China.
Amid the complicated back and forth, at least one thing is set in stone now. Huang will resume his role as a fixture in matters relating to Washington. Staying on Trump’s side during this week’s trip, the Nvidia boss will continue to consolidate his position as one of the Republican politician’s top allies, as he has been doing at a stretch since the MAGA leader returned to office in 2025.
Nvidia confirms Jensen Huang’s China trip with Trump
In addition to CNBC, the US outlet Semafor also published a report citing a source, insinuating that Trump may have added Huang to the list at the last minute, especially since reports of his conspicuous absence from the White House’s reported invite list sparked strong reactions this week.
Consistent with Trump’s confirmation about Huang’s inclusion in his business delegation, the Nvidia CEO was photographed on the tarmac right before boarding Air Force One on Tuesday (US time), instantly putting loud confusion to rest.
Nvidia also confirmed CEO Huang’s attendance at the China summit, scheduled for May 14 and 15, in a statement to CNBC. “Jensen is attending the summit at the invitation of President Trump to support America and the administration’s goals,” a company spokesperson told the business outlet.
Alongside the chipmaker’s formal confirmation, CNBC laid out another claim, citing a source, that Huang joined the others mid-journey, as he flew to Alaska to board the presidential aircraft.
Before Trump’s and Nvidia’s statements about Huang’s China visit, a source had told Reuters that he wasn’t initially sent an invitation as the White House was focused more on agriculture and commercial and aviation matters.
The outlet’s previously shared list of business leaders invited to the Asian country alongside Trump mentioned the following names: Elon Musk, Tim Cook, General Electric’s CEO H. Lawrence “Larry” Culp, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Indian-origin Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra, Boeing’s CEO Kelly Ortberg, former US government official and Meta’s President and Vice Chair Dina Powell McCormick, Qualcomm’s CEO and President Christiano Amon, Illumina CEO Jacob Thaysen, MasterCard President Michael Miebach, Visa Inc’s CEO Ryan McInerney, Cargill’s Chairperson Brian Sikes, Citigroup’s CEO Jane Fraser, and Coherent CEO Jim Anderson.
Although originally invited alongside the rest, Cisco’s CEO, Chuck Robbins, will not be attending the summit, his company told The New York Times.
Complications linked to Nvidia’s chip sales to China
Huang’s addition to the China trip comes at a time when Nvidia’s bid to sell AI chips to the Asian country has been at a standstill. Although the chip-making giant’s boss predicted last year that the Chinese AI market could reach $50 billion in the next few years, the company’s advanced chips continue to face stringent US restrictions on any sales linked to China.
Merely months ago, Nvidia’s CFO Colette M Kress said on an earnings call that they still hadn’t generated any revenue from chip sales to China, according to a FactSet transcript. “We do not know whether any imports will be allowed into China,” she said.
It remains to be seen how Huang’s presence in Beijing this week could also play an influential role in impacting US-China relations, with no seeming end to the AI rivalry between them in sight.
On his part, Trump assured on Tuesday that he would urge the Chinese president to “open up” his country so that all the “brilliant people” accompanying him on the trip can “work their magic and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level!”
Concluding his Truth Social post with a firm vow, Trump signed off, “In fact, I promise, that when we are together, which will be in a matter of hours, I will make that my very first request. I have never seen or heard of any idea that would be more beneficial to our incredible Countries!”