The Pulse
Nvidia and AMD CEOs Join Tsinghua’s Advisory Board
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su have joined the advisory board of Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management. The appointments come as US export rules continue to govern sales of advanced AI chips to China.
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
Chip executives take seats as export rules persist
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang and AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su have joined the advisory board of Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management. The school announced the appointments on September 29, adding both leaders to a forum for international business executives at a moment when US rules still shape which advanced chips can reach Chinese customers.
Huang and Su are two of three new members, alongside Marc Pictet, senior managing partner of Pictet Group. Their appointments followed their attendance at a White House state dinner during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington. A board appointment gives the executives a place in the university’s advisory forum; it does not change export licensing requirements or guarantee access to the Chinese market.
Eight appointments update Tsinghua’s board
The school also named five successor members: BMW chairman Milan Nedeljković, Walmart president and CEO John Furner, Coca-Cola CEO Henrique Braun, General Atlantic co-president Martín Escobari, and bp CEO Meg O’Neill. Tsinghua said the predecessors at those companies had left the board after changes in their roles. The new appointments therefore include both three additions and five replacements.
The committee’s 2026 meeting is scheduled for October 13 and 14 in Beijing. It will be the board’s 27th annual meeting, according to the announcement reported by Cailian Press. Tsinghua’s descriptions of Huang and Su focus on their companies’ computing businesses: Nvidia’s work in accelerated computing and generative AI, and AMD’s position in high-performance and adaptive computing.
US licensing still sets limits on chip sales
Washington’s policy makes the appointments politically notable, but the board itself has no authority over chip exports. In January, the Commerce Department said applications to export Nvidia H200 and AMD MI325X chips to China could receive case-by-case review if specified security conditions were met. That policy offers a route for some sales to be considered; it does not grant blanket approval.
Jeffrey Kessler, the Commerce Department’s under secretary for industry and security, said: “Export controls should evolve with changes in technology, while protecting national security.” The statement captures the policy tension surrounding the new members: Huang and Su have a growing institutional connection to Tsinghua while their companies’ access to China remains subject to US controls.
The October meeting is the next public marker
The appointments establish that the two chip executives have joined a business-school advisory board; they do not, by themselves, signal a new commercial agreement or a change in either government’s policy. The next scheduled public milestone is Tsinghua SEM’s Beijing meeting on October 13 and 14. Until then, the concrete change is the roster: Huang, Su and Pictet join, while five executives take over seats from predecessors who left after changing roles.