Trump Calls Nvidia's Huang 'Honorable' and Says He Would Still Take Him to Asia

Trump told reporters he had not spoken to Huang about the allegations. "I just know he's a fine person, but you never know what's going on," he said, according to the BBC, adding that Huang had "done an amazing job for our country". Reuters quoted him as saying Huang "probably has an excuse for it". Asked whether Huang would travel with him to Asia, Trump said: "I don't know, but I'd certainly take him."

The remarks matter because Huang has been the chip industry's most prominent voice in Washington, pressing the administration to loosen export controls on advanced AI chips to China, and Trump has relied on him as an adviser on artificial intelligence. Trump said he expects to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at next week's APEC summit in China, according to investingLive. A CEO accused of being the target of Chinese intelligence joining a presidential delegation to China would be likely to sharpen scrutiny in Congress.

Trump also stood by his earlier handling of the intelligence. The New York Times reported in late October that he had been briefed last year on intelligence alleging that Alice Huang, an executive linked to the Singapore-based data centre company Megaspeed, was spying for China. Asked on Sunday whether he now wished he had acted on that intelligence, Trump said: "No, I don't think so. I think he's an honourable guy," according to the BBC's account.

Nvidia's board said on Sunday that a committee of independent directors, assisted by outside counsel, would investigate reports that Huang had been the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The board said it had "no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised" and that it had confidence in Huang and his leadership team.

In a message to employees, Huang wrote: "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did." He said he supported the investigation and would cooperate fully. John Rizzo, who heads public policy communications at Nvidia, said in a statement that Huang "is committed to continuing to lead NVIDIA as CEO without interruption".

It is not clear what information, if any, Alice Huang passed to Beijing or when she is alleged to have begun gathering it, the BBC reported. She did not respond to the New York Times' request for comment. Megaspeed told the Times that its current leadership took the allegations seriously and had appointed external legal advisers to run an internal investigation. China has called the claims "groundless speculation". Alice Huang is not related to Jensen Huang.

The case reaches into the centre of US chip policy. Washington had restricted sales of Nvidia's H200, its second most advanced chip, to China before the Trump administration said in January that it would allow sales to Chinese customers under certain conditions. Three Republican House committee chairs wrote to Huang last week asking him to appear later this month to discuss Nvidia's "security protocols against foreign adversary espionage".

Trump's backing gives Huang some political cover, but his caveat that "you never know" stopped short of a full endorsement. Nvidia shares fell about 3% the day after the first report on the relationship in late October, and Monday's US session will be the first test of investor sentiment since Huang's admission.