If you were hoping the Trump-Xi summit would bring a big chip trade breakthrough, you're not alone — and you're also probably feeling a bit disappointed right now.
Global semiconductor stocks, including Intel Corp. (INTC), took a hit Friday after President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up their summit without announcing any major chip agreements or progress on NVIDIA Corp.'s (NVDA) China sales. Investors who had been betting on easing trade restrictions got a cold dose of reality.
NVIDIA-China Expectations Lose Momentum
There was a lot of chatter heading into the summit. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang was part of Trump's China delegation, and many thought that might help grease the wheels for AI chip sales to China. Washington had already approved exports of NVIDIA's H200 chips to China, but Beijing hasn't officially cleared the shipments. The hope was that the summit would push things forward.
It didn't.
AJ Bell head of financial analysis Danni Hewson told the Wall Street Journal on Friday that investors had anticipated concrete developments from the summit that could further strengthen NVIDIA's sales outlook. Instead, they got a whole lot of nothing.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Bloomberg that NVIDIA and semiconductor issues were not a central focus during the meetings. Ouch.
NVDA Price Action: NVIDIA shares were down 3.94% at $226.46 at the time of publication on Friday.
Export Controls Continue To Shape AI Competition
This isn't just about one summit. Washington has been using export controls to limit China's access to advanced semiconductors tied to artificial intelligence and military applications. That's pushing Beijing to accelerate its own domestic chip development.
Greer noted that China ultimately controls whether it purchases NVIDIA chips, and Chinese policymakers remain heavily focused on reducing reliance on U.S. technology and strengthening homegrown semiconductor capabilities. So even if the U.S. says "yes," China might still say "no thanks."
Intel Price Action
Intel shares were down 6.55% at $108.34 at the time of publication on Friday, according to market data.
The decline may also reflect investors taking profits after the stock's historic rally and record high earlier this week. Despite the pullback, analysts remain optimistic about Intel's long-term prospects.
