Trump‑Xi summit lifts AI‑chip optimism

President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping used their May 14-15 summit in Beijing to open a new channel on artificial intelligence safety while leaving the hardest semiconductor trade questions unresolved. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides would establish a protocol on AI best practices, and Trump said Nvidia chips and AI guardrails came up in his talks with Xi. Markets and executives nonetheless treated the summit as a possible sign that some technology friction could ease, even as U.S. officials gave mixed signals on whether export controls themselves were on the table. ### Did Trump and Xi actually talk about AI and chips? Trump said on May 15 that he discussed AI guardrails and Nvidia’s chips with Xi during the two-day summit in Beijing. Bloomberg reported that Trump specifically said Nvidia’s H200 chips came up in the conversations. Scott Bessent said on May 14 that U.S. and Chinese delegations were discussing guardrails for the most powerful AI models and would set up a protocol for best practices. (cnbc.com) In a CNBC interview from Beijing, Bessent said the goal was to keep nonstate actors from getting access to those models. ### What did Bessent say about the U.S. position? Bessent told CNBC that the United States could have those talks because “we are in the lead.” He said Washington wanted “the most innovation and the highest level of safety,” and added that he did not think the same discussions would be happening if China were ahead in AI. (bloomberg.com) Reuters reported that Bessent also described movement around Nvidia’s H200 chip sales as involving “a lot of back-and-forth.” He said any approvals would be handled by the Commerce Department rather than Treasury. (cnbc.com) ### So were chip export controls part of the summit or not? Jamieson Greer, the U.S. trade representative, said Friday that chip export controls were not discussed in the bilateral meeting. (cnbc.com) Greer told Bloomberg TV, as reported by CNBC, that business leaders including Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang had a chance to speak about their companies in a meeting with Trump and Xi, but he said there was no discussion of “chip export controls” in that session. Reuters and CNBC separately reported that Washington had cleared sales of Nvidia’s H200 chips to several major Chinese technology firms, citing people familiar with the matter. Bessent said he had no direct knowledge of those approvals. ### Why did investors focus on Samsung and SK Hynix? South Korean chip stocks were already rising on AI demand, and the summit added another reason for traders to watch the sector. (cnbc.com) Reuters reported on May 14 that SK Hynix was nearing a $1 trillion market value as AI enthusiasm lifted semiconductor shares across Asia. Tech Times reported that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix posted pre-market gains on May 14 as investors tracked Wall Street’s AI-chip rally and the opening of the Trump-Xi summit. (money.usnews.com) That move reflected hopes that any easing in U.S.-China technology friction could support spending on AI infrastructure, though no formal chips agreement emerged from the summit itself. (msn.com) ### Why does the summit still matter if no deal was announced? TIME reported on May 15 that AI was an undercurrent in the Beijing talks even though the most visible expected commercial outcomes centered on Boeing, beef and beans. Channel News Asia, citing analysts, said the summit’s warmer tone helped calm market nerves but did not produce evidence of a breakthrough on sales of Nvidia’s advanced H200 chips to China. (techtimes.com) Jensen Huang’s presence in Beijing underscored how closely business leaders were watching the talks. CNBC reported that Huang joined Trump’s delegation as a late addition, and Greer said executives were able to address Trump and Xi directly about their companies. ### What happens next? The Commerce Department remains the agency to watch on any Nvidia licensing decisions, according to Bessent. (time.com) The next concrete step from the summit is the U.S.-China AI safety protocol Bessent described on May 14, while officials and companies wait for any formal action on H200 export approvals or other semiconductor restrictions. (money.usnews.com) (cnbc.com)