Trump Sends Nvidia Chief to China Despite Spy Allegations
The president defended his chipmaker ally while allowing advanced processors to be sold to Beijing.
By Robert Ward ·
President Donald Trump plans to bring Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to a summit with China’s leader next week.
Trump made the announcement on Monday, stating he would take Huang to meet President Xi Jinping.
This decision comes after U.S. intelligence officials informed the president that Huang had a romantic relationship with a suspected Chinese operative.
Trump said he believes Huang did not know the woman was a spy.
The timeline of the administration's knowledge stretches back to this spring.
Internal memos detailing the relationship circulated through government channels earlier in the year.
Trump claimed he may have seen the documents but said they did not make a large impact on his thinking at the time.
He stated he recently learned more about the situation and believes Huang is suffering greatly from the revelation.
Huang admitted to an affair with an executive at a Malaysian data center firm.
Nvidia launched an internal investigation following Huang's public statement.
The company also donated $25 million to the project for Trump's new White House ballroom.
Trump has allowed Nvidia to sell its H200 chips to Chinese companies despite his claims of a technological race against Beijing. He described the H200 as the second-fastest chip in the company's lineup. He approved these sales even while arguing that the United States must lead in artificial intelligence development to maintain its advantage over China. Trump told reporters in April that the U.S. is leading China by a lot in AI. He repeated similar claims in Dublin in September and at a White House summit shortly before his trip to Beijing. The president admitted to knowing about the relationship with the suspected spy before allowing the chip sales. He said he probably believes Huang has an excuse for the connection. John Bolton, a former national security adviser, noted that questions are arising faster than answers. Robert Kagan, a former State Department official, suggested the ballroom donation may explain the support. He called the situation an opportunity for enrichment. Rahm Emanuel, former Chicago mayor, pointed out that Trump bought more than $6 million in Nvidia stock this year. He asked who in the administration knew and why they kept allowing Huang to make his case. The White House and National Security Council did not respond to queries. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Jim Banks wrote that the revelation demands congressional scrutiny. They asked Nvidia to explain how the relationship ties to its business activities in China. They previously asked the Commerce Department to suspend Nvidia's export licenses pending a national security review.
