Delicate challenge for Nvidia chief

Nvidia founder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang Jen-hsun caused quite a stir as he showed up at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to receive an honorary doctorate and gave a speech welcoming graduates to work at the chip-making giant.

Huang's company is known to have been walking a tightrope between China and the US amid heightened geopolitical tensions between the two countries.

When Joe Biden's administration slapped a ban on the export of cutting-edge chips to China under its "small yard, high fence" policy, Nvidia tailor-made chips for its Chinese customers, supplying them with products just below the threshold that would have triggered an embargo until Washington tightened the threshold further.

It is all but apparent that Huang is well prepared for an escalation in the Sino-US conflicts after Donald Trump is sworn into the presidential office in January, telling the media that his company would balance compliance with laws and policies while advancing its technology and serving customers all over the world.

It goes without saying that China is one of Nvidia's major customers.

Huang was speaking about the balance that his company had been trying to achieve during the time of the Biden administration as White House officials defined the "small yard" and put up a "high fence" around it.

While Trump is expected to be more aggressive in his China policy in the wake of his naming of China critics, including Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Huang appeared to be confident that if he had been able to maintain a balance in the past four years, he would again be able to in the next four years.

"We'll continue to do that and be able to do that just fine," he told reporters.

The question is: can he continue to have the best of both worlds?

Nonetheless, no matter what is going to happen after January 20, Nvidia is destined to be an important partner for China in the latter's quest for leadership in artificial intelligence.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po was smart to capitalize on Huang's appearance in the city, seizing the opportunity to perform a soft promotion for Hong Kong's innovation and technology ambition by sitting right next to Huang in a group dinner enjoying stir-fried dishes in a dai pai dong in Sham Shui Po.

Even though Chan sat in the middle of the group facing the photographer, Huang was the most eye-catching of all in the photo.

On his weekly blog, Chan started off with the "very special dinner" that he had with leading figures from the global I&T community, leaders from universities and research communities as well as professors returning from overseas.

Without naming everyone in writing, Chan carried on straight to the main topic: constructing an I&T ecosystem in the Greater Bay Area at full speed.

He cited as an example that the government last week promulgated an outline for the development of the Hong Kong park in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong innovation and technology cooperation zone in the loop.

With Huang sitting closely to him in the photo, Chan can look to Huang for his endorsement of the government's GBA strategy.