US President Donald Trump has said he does not recall reading a memo in which secretary of state Marco Rubio flagged Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with an alleged Chinese spy.Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the intelligence warning may have been mentioned to him but did not make much of an impact. He said, “I would certainly check with the intelligence people. It could have been mentioned. Certainly, it didn’t make much of an impact on me.”This comes as the FBI investigates Huang’s association with the accused Chinese operative, Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le.Despite the allegations, Trump continued to defend the Nvidia chief, saying he had personally questioned him about his association with Alice Huang.“He said, ‘I had no idea she was a spy’, and I really believe him,” Trump told reporters.The US President also said he expected Huang to be in a good position as the FBI examined the matter.“I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else, and I think that he’ll be in good shape,” Trump said.Trump had earlier expressed confidence in the tech executive, describing him as “an honourable guy” and saying he “probably has an excuse for it”. When asked on Sunday whether he regretted not acting on the allegations earlier, the President said he had no remorse.Also Read|Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang loses $7.4bn in 30 minutes, drops 2 spots in Forbes rich list
Rubio flagged Huang’s links before Trump’s China visit
The New York Times reported that Rubio had flagged Jensen Huang’s relationship with the alleged Chinese operative in a memo circulated ahead of Trump’s visit to Beijing in May.The disclosure adds to questions over when the US administration became aware of the alleged connection and what action it considered taking.The latest revelation follows an earlier report by The New York Times that Trump had been briefed nearly a year ago that US intelligence agencies had electronically surveilled Alice Huang over suspicions that she was spying for Beijing.Initially, surveillance established her association with an unidentified American national. Intelligence officials later identified the individual as Jensen Huang.According to the earlier report, Trump chose not to take punitive action at the time. He reportedly considered Nvidia’s advanced chips important to America’s competition with China in artificial intelligence. He also viewed the company’s market value as important to supporting financial markets.
FBI investigates Alice’s association with Chinese operative
Alice Huang, who is not related to Jensen Huang, previously served as managing director of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company that had commercial partnerships with Nvidia.The allegations have raised national security concerns in Washington, particularly over the possible transfer of sensitive intellectual property involving Nvidia’s advanced artificial intelligence processors.The FBI is examining Jensen Huang’s association with the accused operative. Nvidia has also initiated an independent internal inquiry into the matter.The controversy has triggered international scrutiny over the Nvidia chief’s alleged involvement. Huang has publicly acknowledged the relationship and apologised to his spouse.
Huang’s lobbying for China chip sales under scrutiny
The allegations have emerged as Jensen Huang continues to lobby Washington for relaxed export controls on Nvidia’s semiconductor shipments to mainland China.Trump has authorised Nvidia to supply its H200 artificial intelligence chips to Beijing over the course of the year. However, it remains unclear whether Chinese regulators will allow domestic companies to purchase the processors in significant volumes.The controversy has also drawn attention to the strategic importance of Nvidia’s technology in the US-China artificial intelligence race.China has rejected the espionage allegations, describing them as part of a coordinated smear campaign against Beijing.