Trump bought Nvidia shares, then cleared path for chip sales to China: Report

US President Donald Trump bought millions of dollars worth of Nvidia shares before taking decisions that eased restrictions on the chipmaker's exports to China, an analysis of his financial disclosures has found. According to an analysis by anti-corruption group DeKleptocracy, Trump's disclosures show he purchased between $1 million and $5 million worth of Nvidia stock in the days before his administration scrapped a Biden-era export rule in May 2025. The rule, known as the diffusion rule, was intended to restrict exports of advanced US-made artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China over concerns that Beijing could use the technology to develop superior AI capabilities. Its removal opened the way for Nvidia to expand sales in a market that accounted for about a quarter of its revenue between 2010 and 2022. Nvidia shares rose in value after Trump announced the reversal. His disclosures also showed purchases of shares in other technology companies, including Apple, Meta and Microsoft. The president's Nvidia investments continued as his administration moved to ease restrictions further. In December 2025, Trump announced that Nvidia would be allowed to sell its H200 chips to China. The US commerce department approved the move in January 2026. The decision drew criticism over the potential implications for US national security. Experts said the H200 chips were among Nvidia's most advanced products and were six times more powerful than the chips available in China at the time, the Guardian reported. The council on foreign relations warned that their sale could “supercharge” China's future AI factories and strengthen the US's rival. Trump's financial disclosures indicate that he made at least three Nvidia stock purchases in the days after announcing the H200 decision. Each transaction was valued between $250,001 and $500,000. He appears to have made dozens of Nvidia-related stock transactions since taking office, with some ranking among his largest purchases.

The stock purchases have come amid separate scrutiny of Nvidia's links to an alleged Chinese intelligence operation. Reports have alleged that Alice Huang, described as a Chinese spy, had an affair with Nvidia's former chief executive Jensen Huang, and that her company, Megaspeed, obtained billions of dollars' worth of the chipmaker's products. Trump was briefed twice by US intelligence officials on their assessment that Alice Huang was a Chinese asset, but did not act on it, according to The Guardian.