Trump Unlikely to Raise 'Jensen Huang Affair' Allegations at Xi Meeting

U.S. official: "We do not expect President Trump to raise the issue of Alice Huang"

U.S. President Donald Trump

A U.S. official said that allegations linking former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to Chinese espionage would not be discussed at next week's summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The remarks are seen as reflecting a judgment that the issue could place an unnecessary burden on the summit.

A U.S. government official told the UK's Financial Times (FT) on November 14 (local time), "We do not expect President Trump to raise the issue of Alice Huang."

Alice Huang is a person revealed to have had an affair with former CEO Jensen Huang. She was a former executive at Singaporean company Megaspeed, a former Nvidia customer, and U.S. intelligence officials suspect she may be a spy recruited by Chinese intelligence agencies.

Alice Huang is suspected of using a company called Megaspeed to indirectly supply Nvidia's advanced semiconductors to Chinese companies. The United States restricts exports of advanced semiconductors to adversaries.

Questions about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's responsibility have also arisen, particularly after reports that the U.S. Department of Commerce delayed the process of adding Megaspeed to its list of entities subject to export controls.

Secretary Lutnick's camp has defended itself against allegations that it favored Nvidia, saying it was acting in accordance with President Trump's wishes. However, speculation has emerged that personal interests may have played a role, prompting calls for his dismissal.

U.S. officials, however, stressed that these matters were separate from the U.S.-China summit. Another U.S. official said, "The Nvidia situation should have no impact on this visit."

He explained, "U.S. export controls are not up for negotiation in any discussions or negotiations with China," adding, "Export controls are a national security matter decided through interagency consultations, and we do not expect this issue to be discussed with the Chinese side during the visit to China."

The remarks are interpreted as underscoring the Trump Administration's position that it will not use semiconductor export controls as a bargaining chip in negotiations with China. Since China has strongly denied the allegations that Alice Huang was a spy, raising the issue could also burden the summit.

President Trump himself may have judged that raising the espionage allegations at the summit would bring little benefit, since he had allowed Nvidia to sell certain chip models to China.

Meanwhile, President Trump will visit China to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which will be held in Shenzhen, China, from November 17 to 19. He is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with President Xi on November 19.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.