As Nvidia faces market value losses amid controversy surrounding CEO Jensen Huang’s alleged relationship, a new report by The New York Times has revealed that President Donald Trump was informed about the matter months earlier.
Trump was briefed on Jensen Huang’s affair in May
According to the report published Tuesday, Trump was briefed aboard Air Force One in May while travelling to China. During the flight, he was reportedly told that US intelligence agencies had obtained sensitive information suggesting Huang was involved with a woman, Alice Huang, suspected of being a Chinese spy.
Marco Rubio, Trump’s secretary of state and national security adviser, relayed the information shortly before Jensen Huang joined the president’s visit to Beijing at his invitation. While Huang was reportedly not on the list of business delegates accompanying Trump to China, he was invited at the last minute by the president himself. The Nvidia CEO then joined Trump in Alaska where Air Force One had halted for refueling. Shortly after this, Trump confirmed that Huang was participating in the Beijing summit.
The New York Times reported that this was at least the second occasion in seven months that Trump had received intelligence concerning Huang’s alleged relationship with the woman.
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Trump denies prior knowledge
Trump has largely dismissed or downplayed the allegations since US officials first alerted him last year that a woman reportedly involved in an affair with Huang was suspected of having links to Chinese intelligence.
The president has consistently backed Nvidia, describing the company as important to maintaining America’s technological edge and contributing to the stock market’s gains in recent years.
Trump denied knowing about Huang’s alleged connection to the woman before travelling to China for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday. “No, I didn’t hear about it then,” he said.
Meanwhile, Beijing rejected claims that Alice Huang was a Chinese spy, while Jensen acknowledged having had an affair with her.
Trump downplays warnings about Huang
Asked whether had received an intelligence briefing about the matter last year, Trump said he would need to verify it. “I’d certainly check with the intelligence people,” he said. “They could have been mentioned. Certainly, it didn’t make much of an impact on me,” the President added.
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Trump’s May visit to China has attracted renewed attention following revelations about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s reported relationship with Alice Huang. She previously held an executive position at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company that purchases advanced Nvidia chips.
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Huang will not accompany Trump on next China visit
Trump is scheduled to make another visit to China next week. While he had initially suggested that Huang could join him on the trip, the president said on Monday that the Nvidia CEO would not be accompanying him.
The president also said he had no intention of bringing up the issue with Jinping during their meeting.