‘I was amazed,’ US president says after report links Jensen Huang to woman accused of passing information to Beijing
US President Donald Trump said Monday that he spoke with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who told him he had no idea that a businesswoman he was reportedly close to was a spy.
“I asked him about that, and he said he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy. I asked him that question. ‘Did you have any idea that she was a spy?’ He said ‘I had no idea that she was a spy,’ and I really believe him,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“When I heard about it, first of all, I was amazed because I view him as a very high-quality person. I’ve known him a long time,” he said.
Trump praised Huang and Nvidia, saying the company is “probably the largest or one of the largest companies in the world” by value.
“I hope there’s no problem. If there is a problem, we’ll let you know about it,” Trump added.
“We’ll look into it. I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else, and I think that he’ll be in good shape,” he said.
Nvidia’s board launched an investigation after the New York Times reported that Huang had a close relationship with a Chinese businesswoman who US intelligence officials believe shared information with Beijing.
The Times reported that Alice Huang had worked for Chinese intelligence.
China on Monday rejected the accusation, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun describing it as baseless speculation and a smear.
