Trump Was Briefed On Alleged China Spy Plot Involving Nvidia's Jensen Huang And Did Nothing, Report Finds (October 29, 2026)
www.forbes.com
... Topline
President Donald Trump received intelligence about a suspected Chinese spy with close ties to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, an ally and top tech advisor to the president, but chose not to act, The New York Times reported Thursday.
Key Facts
Trump was briefed on U.S. intelligence findings about Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman whom officials determined was gathering information for Beijing, around a year ago, but chose not to do anything about it, according to The New York Times.
U.S. surveillance unveiled her close professional and social relationship with Jensen Huang, raising concerns that China could gain access to critical information on artificial intelligence development, thwarting U.S. efforts to prevent the country from beating it in the global AI race.
Trump has been concerned about disrupting Nvidia's chip sales"which drive U.S. AI advancement and the entire economy, as the company makes up around 8% of the S&P 500 by market capitalization"as well as further complicating trade relations with China.
Jensen Huang has not received a defense intelligence briefing, which U.S. officials sometimes use to warn Americans that foreign intelligence services may be targeting them, The Times reported, citing people briefed on the surveillance.
Nvidia defended its relationship with Alice Huang's company, Megaspeed, saying its dealings with her were routine and that it shared no sensitive trade secrets or information about national security.
U.S. officials did not believe Jensen Huang knew Alice Huang was gathering information for China when they briefed Trump last year, The Times reported, but some of Trump's senior officials believe Jensen couldn't have remained unaware of this.
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The U.S. doesn't let companies export Nvidia's most advanced chips to China, but some have illegally smuggled them over the border, and others set up businesses that buy large numbers of chips to build data centers in Southeast Asia, that then serve Chinese firms.
The Trump administration rolled back rules the Biden administration put in place in 2022 to prevent this practice, and Megaspeed is one of the companies that buys chips and then rents computing power to Chinese companies. U.S. investigators also think some Nvidia chips are actually making their way into China through Megaspeed, The Times reported.
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TANGENT
Jensen Huang has become one of Trump's close tech advisors. In April 2025, Trump was considering banning sales of Nvidia chips to China, which prompted Huang to meet with him and explain why selling to Beijing was crucial. People briefed on that discussion said Trump was very impressed with Huang. ...
