China hails Nvidia expo appearance as ‘vote of confidence’ amid tensions

China has announced that US semiconductor giant Nvidia will attend its flagship supply chain event for the first time, despite growing tensions between the two countries over a string of trade and technology issues.

Nvidia will be among more than 100 exhibitors from the United States and Europe attending the China International Supply Chain Expo in July, the event’s organiser confirmed during a press conference on Tuesday morning.

The artificial intelligence chip firm’s appearance in Beijing comes as the United States ramps up pressure on China’s semiconductor industry, with Washington implementing export controls on sales of advanced US microchips and banning purchases of Chinese-made chips.

The fact that so many Western exhibitors were travelling to China despite a “complex and volatile” global trade landscape represented a “vote of confidence” in the expo and China’s supply chain, said Yu Jianlong, deputy director of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the state-run body that hosts the event.

The number of US companies exhibiting at this year’s expo is up 15 per cent compared with 2024, while the proportion of non-mainland Chinese exhibitors has risen by three percentage points to 35 per cent, according to Yu.

“The supply chain expo has become more international, with an ever-expanding ‘circle of friends’,” he said.