Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) yesterday said that he was not making a geopolitical comment after a Chinese state-backed online media firm criticized him for calling Taiwan a country.
Since Huang arrived in Taiwan on May 26, the Tainan native has been surrounded by fans and media whenever he has been in public.
Reuters reported that some Taiwanese have begun referring to his popularity as “Jensanity.”
Photo: CNA
At a night market on May 29, Huang told reporters that “Taiwan is one of the most important countries in the world. It is at the center of the electronics industry. The computer industry is built because of Taiwan.”
In a speech at National Taiwan University on June 2, he displayed a map of Taiwan surrounded by the names of Taiwanese companies and institutes Nvidia has partnered with, thanking them for being the “bedrock for the AI [artificial intelligence] industrial revolution.”
On Thursday, Chinese online media firm Guancha published an article that said Huang’s popularity in Taiwan might have gone to his head.
“Perhaps he has gotten carried away and it has made him arrogant,” Guancha said. “He even called Taiwan a country.”
“While it was unclear whether his words were a mistake or held a hidden agenda, many Taiwanese media firms responded to them as if they were treasure,” it said, adding that Huang had not responded to online criticism in China so far.
It is absolutely impossible for Chinese companies to work with a company that supports “Taiwan independence,” it said, calling on Huang to give “Chinese compatriots and supply chain partners an explanation.”
In Taipei yesterday, reporters asked Huang to comment on Chinese reactions to his “country” remark.
“I wasn’t making a geopolitical comment, but thanking all of our technology partners here for all their support and contributions to the industry,” Huang said.
Huang departed Taiwan last night.
Voice of America on Friday reported that a National Taiwan University academic said that Beijing would not become hostile toward Huang, because “China needs Nvidia, but Nvidia does not need China.”
Lin Tsung-nan (林宗男), a professor in the university’s Department of Electrical Engineering, told Voice of America that Nvidia dominates the AI chip market, and while the Chinese government backs Huawei Technologies Co, its chips do not perform as well as even Nvidia’s downgraded products.
“The Chinese government bullies the good and fears the strong, so it arbitrarily bans imports of Taiwan’s agricultural products, but does it dare ban Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s [TSMC]?” Lin asked.
China needs Nvidia’s high-end chips, he said, adding that as long as China needs Huang, Beijing will not shoot itself in the foot even if he makes remarks that conflict with its ideology and policies.
Huang was born in Taiwan and when Nvidia was founded, it relied on Taiwanese partners, including TSMC, so he knows the importance of Taiwan in the development of information and communications technology and chip production, Lin said.
Chung Hua University adjunct professor Tu Tzu-chen (杜紫宸) said that the Chinese government knows well the concept of “the lesser of two evils,” so it knows there is nothing to gain from criticizing Huang.
However, Beijing would hold a grudge and whether it seeks redress would depend on Nvidia’s strength, Tu said.
Nvidia is already working with 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer chip technology, while the best China has is 7-nanometer, so it still relies on Nvidia for high-end AI chips, which could be used in products such as PCs and autonomous vehicles, he said.
Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a research director at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, said that China sees how central Nvidia is in the global AI industry, with an edge in hardware, software, next-generation server platforms, edge computing, smart factories and robotics, so it would not make Huang an enemy to preserve opportunities for cooperation.
Moreover, with China failing to make breakthroughs in high-end AI chip manufacturing and advanced packaging solutions, as well as the algorithm technology gap it faces, it has no choice but to bet its hope on Nvidia, she said.
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