US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick was sent a highly classified memo, overseen by secretary of State Marco Rubio, warning about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. The document, seen by Axios, which drew on surveillance of Alice Huang and an investigation into alleged chip smuggling involving her company, Singapore-based Megaspeed, was circulated before President Donald Trump's May 13-15 visit to China. Rubio oversaw the preparation of the memo, which detailed Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, whom US intelligence officials believe to be a Chinese intelligence agent, according to The New York Times. US President Donald Trump, while heading towards China in May, was briefed on intelligence shortly before Huang joined the Presidential trip at Trump's invitation. Huang was initially left off the invitation list for business and technology leaders travelling to China with Trump in May. The decision attracted attention before the President's departure from the US. Trump later invited Huang to join the trip during a refuelling stop in Alaska. Rubio was among more than a dozen administration officials aboard Air Force One. A US government official, speaking anonymously because they were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly, confirmed that Rubio briefed Trump after learning in Alaska that Huang would be joining the trip. “He briefed the president on the issue,” the official said It was at least the second time in seven months that Trump had been informed of intelligence concerning Huang's relationship with the woman, known as Alice Huang. The previously unreported briefing contradicts Trump's claim on Monday that he had not known about the relationship when he travelled to China for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Asked whether he had been aware of Huang's ties to the woman at the time, Trump said: “No, I didn’t hear about it then.” US officials had concluded that Alice Huang was working for China's ministry of state security, according to the report. The disclosures have put Nvidia under scrutiny and sent its shares lower. They have also drawn attention to the US-China competition over artificial intelligence (AI), in which Nvidia's advanced chips are central to America's technological advantage. The developments have further raised questions about Huang's influence over the Trump administration's AI policy and decisions affecting the company. US officials first warned Trump late last year that a woman involved in an affair with Huang was believed to be working for Chinese intelligence. Trump chose not to act on the information, The New York Times reported last month. Asked on Monday whether he had received a briefing on the matter last year, Trump said he would have to check with intelligence officials. “I’d certainly check with the intelligence people,” he said. “They could have been mentioned. Certainly, it didn’t make much of an impact on me.” Trump is scheduled to visit China again next week. Although he initially suggested that Huang could join the trip, he said on Monday that the Nvidia chief would not accompany him. The president continued to defend Huang, saying he had spoken to him and asked whether he knew that Alice Huang was a spy. According to Trump, the Nvidia chief said he had no knowledge of it. Trump said he did not intend to raise the matter with Xi during their meeting next week. “I just know Jensen very well,” Trump said. “I just think he’s a very honorable man.” The May visit has come under renewed scrutiny following the disclosures about Huang's relationship with Alice Huang, who had worked as an executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed, a company that purchases advanced Nvidia chips. The US began restricting direct sales of advanced chips to China in late 2022 but continues to allow Chinese companies to rent computing power at data centres in Southeast Asia, including facilities operated by companies such as Megaspeed. People familiar with the events said Trump was not particularly influenced by the briefing and went ahead with the plan to bring Huang on the trip.
