Marco Rubio flagged Nvidia CEO's affair with Chinese 'spy' in memo last spring

Marco Rubio flagged Jensen Huang's relationship with Alice Huang in a memo before Trump's China visit. The disclosure deepens scrutiny of Nvidia's China business and advanced AI chip exports.Rubio memo flags Nvidia CEO's alleged ties to Chinese intelligence before Trump tripNew Delhi,Nov 9, 2026 17:55 ISTUS Secretary of State Marco Rubio flagged Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's alleged relationship with a business executive suspected of working for Chinese intelligence in a memo circulated ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to China in May, according to a New York Times report.The memo, shared last spring, raised questions about Huang's association with Alice Huang, who US intelligence agencies suspected of gathering information for Beijing. The development comes amid growing scrutiny of Nvidia's business dealings with China and concerns that restricted advanced AI chips could be reaching the country through third-party companies.According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to the NYT on condition of anonymity, the intelligence concerns emerged at a time when Huang was seeking to maintain Nvidia's access to the Chinese market.Despite leading one of the world's most valuable technology companies and playing a central role in the global artificial intelligence industry, Huang was initially left off the list of prominent business and technology executives invited to accompany Trump on his China trip. It remains unclear whether the decision was connected to the intelligence memo. However, several administration officials were reportedly concerned about Huang's influence over Trump's approach to AI regulation.Huang has consistently argued against tighter restrictions on exports of advanced AI chips and has pushed for Nvidia to retain access to China, allowing the company to sell all but its newest technology there. Trump eventually intervened after seeing media reports about Huang's absence from the delegation. He asked the Nvidia chief to join the trip by meeting Air Force One during a layover in Alaska.The president even drafted a social media post celebrating Huang's participation, describing him as the "Great Jensen Huang" and referring to the business leaders accompanying him as brilliant people who would work their magic in China.TRUMP KNEW ABOUT SURVEILLANCE BUT TOOK NO ACTIONThe latest revelations follow an earlier NYT report that Trump had been briefed roughly a year ago that US intelligence agencies had electronically surveilled Alice Huang and suspected she was working for Chinese intelligence services.The surveillance had also uncovered a close relationship between Alice Huang and a US citizen. When officials sought to unmask the American's identity, which is normally protected under foreign intelligence surveillance rules, they discovered that the individual was Jensen Huang, the NYT reported.Trump chose not to take action at the time, according to the report. The president viewed Nvidia's chips as essential to America's competition with China in artificial intelligence and considered the company's success important for maintaining a strong stock market.Asked on Sunday whether he regretted not acting on the intelligence, Trump said he did not."No, I don't think so," he told reporters.The president also backed Huang continuing as Nvidia's chief executive, describing him as "an honorable guy"."I think he probably has an excuse for it. You have to hear it," Trump said.NVIDIA LAUNCHES PROBE AFTER HUANG ADMITS RELATIONSHIPThe controversy took another turn on Sunday after Huang acknowledged to Nvidia that he had been intimate with Alice Huang.The company said it was opening an investigation into its chief executive but added that it had "no reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised".In a message to the company, Huang apologised for his personal conduct and acknowledged that his actions had hurt his family."I was unfaithful to my wife," he said. "My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry."Nvidia has maintained that Huang's interactions with Alice Huang were "not unusual or unexpected" and were consistent with the meetings he routinely holds with customers.The company has also said that customers such as Megaspeed do not receive classified business information.WHY MEGASPEED IS UNDER US SCRUTINYMegaspeed's business dealings have drawn attention from US authorities because of the scale of its purchases from Nvidia and suspicions surrounding its operations.Despite having what the NYT described as essentially a storefront office and a limited local presence, the Singapore-based company purchased around $2 billion worth of Nvidia products in recent years.Megaspeed builds data centres across Southeast Asia and rents out their computing capacity to Alibaba, the Chinese internet giant. US officials suspect the company may have helped move restricted advanced Nvidia chips into China illegally.Alice Huang, who speaks English fluently, reportedly had connections with senior executives across the AI chip industry, including Jensen Huang and leaders of Gigabyte, a major assembler of Nvidia supercomputers.The two were photographed together with other industry executives at a bar in Taipei in 2024, around the time Megaspeed began a multibillion-dollar purchase of advanced AI chips. However, it remains unclear when they first met.Alice Huang has not responded to attempts to contact her, the NYT reported.The State Department and the White House declined to comment on the report.- Ends