Trump ignored intel on China’s Nvidia spy to protect company’s stock, report says

Soon after US scrutiny increased, Alice Huang’s name was removed from Megaspeed corporate documents. At this stage, it’s unclear “how closely she is still connected to Megaspeed,” NYT reported.

Liu Chang, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, told NYT that the US accusations against Alice Huang are baseless. He accused the US of pursuing a campaign of “groundless smears and slanders” against China.

No warning to Nvidia CEO

It’s not clear which agencies were investigating Alice Huang or what triggered their suspicions, NYT reported. Sources also could not explain what information she may have shared with Beijing.

Nvidia has denied that she would have had access to any trade secrets, but it seems notable that Jensen Huang did not receive a defensive briefing that Americans sometimes get when they’re targets of foreign spying. Some senior officials think it’s unlikely that Jensen Huang would have “remained unaware” of Alice Huang’s alleged intelligence-gathering for the entire duration of their professional relationship, although Trump was told Jensen Huang had no knowledge at the time of his briefing. It seems possible that Jensen Huang got no briefing because US agencies worried that he might tip her off that “she was being watched,” the NYT reported.

Trump’s deep ties with tech leaders have been criticized throughout his administration, but Jensen Huang’s influence increasingly stands out . To critics, the political friendship appears to be largely based on growing his business in China. Since cozying up to Trump, the Nvidia CEO has gotten export controls relaxed and even struck a controversial deal giving the US a 25 percent cut of some chip sales so he could try to sell more chips in China. Sources told NYT that “some investigations and proposed trade sanctions involving China or Nvidia” have “ground to a halt within the Commerce Department” due to Jensen Huang’s influence.