Stephen Witt’s book reveals: Jensen Huang once instructed Nvidia executives to never think about Taiwan contingency plans
Former Senior Director for China at the U.S. National Security Council Julian Gewirtz posted on X on November 9, citing details from journalist Stephen Witt’s The Thinking Machine, saying that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had instructed company executives to never think about Taiwan-related contingency planning issues. Witt wrote in the book that, to his great surprise, Nvidia had not drawn up contingency plans for the possibility that China might blockade or invade Taiwan.
Witt quoted Nvidia Executive Vice President of Operations Deb Shoquist as saying that if something were to happen to Taiwan and TSMC, the consequences would be so enormous that it would be like asking her what she should do if California sank into the sea. She said that Huang had instructed her to never think about that issue.
Gewirtz pointed out that Nvidia’s business is highly dependent on TSMC to produce its most advanced chips, and he discussed this detail in an article he published earlier this year in the New York Review of Books. He also linked to his related reflections published that day.
Original source:
Title: Jensen Huang reportedly instructed his team at Nvidia "never to think about" planning for a Taiwan contingency. Publisher: Julian Gewirtz（@JulianGewirtz） Publication date: 2026-11-09 URL: https://x.com/JulianGewirtz/status/2119907759365956004 Nature of source: personal social media post (citing a book and a previous article) Verification status: The full original post was read; the content cites Stephen Witt’s The Thinking Machine and Gewirtz’s own New York Review of Books article; the specific quotations and descriptions come from the book report, not from an official Nvidia statement. Supporting content: Huang instructed executives to never think about the Taiwan contingency issue, and Deb Shoquist’s statement about California sinking into the sea.
ABAB AI Insight
The details recorded by Stephen Witt in The Thinking Machine reflect Nvidia’s approach to geopolitical risks related to Taiwan in the context of its highly concentrated supply chain centered on TSMC. As Executive Vice President of Operations, Deb Shoquist was responsible for functions such as manufacturing, supply chain, and foundry management; her California sinking into the sea analogy directly describes the systemic impact that could result if TSMC capacity were disrupted.
Huang’s instruction to executives to never think about the issue is consistent with his longstanding public stance emphasizing deep cooperation with TSMC and reducing the probability of conflict through economic interdependence. Witt expressed surprise at this in the book and noted that, at least during his interviews, the company had not drawn up a corresponding contingency plan.
In his post, Julian Gewirtz discussed this detail alongside recent reporting related to Nvidia and connected it with his earlier article in the New York Review of Books. The detail is currently seen only in the book report and secondary引用; Nvidia has not publicly responded or confirmed whether it later adjusted related plans.
Nvidia’s most advanced chips continue to rely mainly on TSMC for manufacturing, and the company has partially diversified by expanding capacity in the United States and elsewhere, but its core advanced process nodes remain centered in Taiwan. The attitude recorded in Witt’s book shows that, under a highly concentrated foundry model, internal discussion of extreme scenarios was once explicitly restricted.