Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes Germany, Japan and China remain the world’s leading manufacturing and technology powers, with the US notably absent from his list. He says China’s combination of industrial expertise and computing capabilities gives it an advantage, while American export restrictions have accelerated Beijing’s push for semiconductor independence
hat makes a country a manufacturing superpower in the age of artificial intelligence? Having factories, skilled workers and industrial expertise is no longer enough. Computing capabilities are becoming just as important, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes only a handful of countries have managed to establish a strong position in both.
In a conversation with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Huang identified Germany, Japan and China as the three countries that currently stand out in global manufacturing and advanced technology. The conspicuous omission was the United States, despite its position as a major force in semiconductor design, software and artificial intelligence.
Huang’s assessment is rooted in how manufacturing has evolved over the past five decades. He argued that the digital revolution fundamentally changed the geography of industrial production, with American companies increasingly shifting heavy manufacturing, construction and skilled production work to China.
“For the last 50 years, because of the current Industrial Revolution, which is computing and digital technology, the United States has largely exported its heavy manufacturing, its building, and its craft to China. So now the world has three (leaders) again. It’s Germany, Japan and China,” Huang said.
More from TechHis comments came during discussions on the sidelines of Nvidia’s GTC Berlin conference, where he also spoke to CNBC about China’s growing technological capabilities and the consequences of Washington’s restrictions on semiconductor exports.
Why Huang believes China has an advantage over other manufacturing nations
For Huang, China’s biggest advantage is not simply its manufacturing capacity. It is the fact that the country’s industrial expansion happened at a time when computers and digital technologies were becoming central to economic activity.
China’s manufacturing sector grew alongside the development of modern computing infrastructure, allowing the country to build industrial capabilities while becoming increasingly comfortable with advanced technology.
Huang believes this combination is relatively unusual. While several countries have established themselves in manufacturing or computer science, China has developed considerable strength in both areas.
“The advantage that China has is that they came into their industrial revolution, if you will, their economic transformation happened during precisely the time of the computer industry,” he said.
He added that China is perhaps the only country that has developed substantial capabilities in manufacturing and computer science simultaneously, making it difficult for competitors to match its industrial and technological depth.
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