Trump Says He’ll ‘Check Closely’ on Nvidia’s Jensen Huang After China Spy Report

US President Donald Trump has said his administration will examine reports of a suspected Chinese intelligence operation involving a businesswoman with alleged ties to Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, while describing the technology leader as “aboveboard” and “brilliant”.

Asked whether he retained confidence in Huang as a technology adviser, Trump offered qualified support.

“I would like to say yes. I mean, unless we find out something to the contrary,” he told reporters at his Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Saturday, according to The Washington Post.

“I’ve always found Jensen Huang to be very aboveboard. But you know, you’re dealing in a very complex issue.”

What prompted Trump’s remarks?

The comments followed a New York Times report that Trump had been briefed approximately a year earlier on intelligence findings concerning Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le.

The Chinese businesswoman was suspected of providing information to Beijing and developing a close relationship with Jensen Huang, according to the report, which cited people familiar with US surveillance efforts.

The information she allegedly passed to Chinese authorities potentially included insights obtained through her association with Nvidia.

Alice Huang was associated with Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data centre company that buys advanced Nvidia processors to build facilities and lease computing capacity to businesses in China.

Trump said he was unaware of the specific intelligence concerns when questioned on Saturday.

“We hope everything’s okay with Jensen. We’ll check it out. We’re going to check it out very closely,” he said.

Nvidia disputes allegations

Nvidia has disputed the characterisation of the relationship and rejected allegations that Megaspeed was involved in diverting advanced chips to China.

Company spokesperson John Rizzo told The New York Times that Megaspeed and other customers “receive ordinary business information” rather than sensitive Nvidia trade secrets, and “zero information relevant to national security”.

Megaspeed said its current leadership was treating the allegations “extremely seriously” and was committed to establishing the facts.

China also rejected the allegations. Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Chang accused Washington of pursuing “groundless smears and slanders” against Beijing.

Huang’s influence on US chip policy

Huang has become an influential voice in Trump’s technology policy discussions. He serves on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, which advises the administration on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

He accompanied Trump on his state visit to China in May, joining Air Force One during a refuelling stop in Alaska.

The Nvidia chief has argued for continued Chinese market access for American technology companies and lobbied successfully for Washington to ease restrictions on Nvidia chip exports.

According to The New York Times, Trump did not act on the earlier intelligence findings amid concerns about the economic consequences of disrupting Nvidia’s sales and commercial relationship with China.

Despite qualifying his confidence in Huang, Trump continued to praise his expertise.

“When it comes to chips, there’s never been anyone like him,” he said.

With inputs from ANI