House Republicans request Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang brief Congress on alleged Chinese intelligence ties
Three House committee chairs have asked Nvidia chief Jensen Huang to appear at a closed-door briefing on his contacts with a Chinese executive identified in U.S. intelligence reports as an asset of the People’s Republic of China.
Three Republican leaders of House committees wrote to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Thursday, inviting him to a closed-door briefing about his relationship with Megaspeed executive Alice Huang and the company’s security measures against foreign espionage. The letter, signed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford, said recent reports raise concerns about the People’s Republic of China’s access to sensitive U.S. technology and information.
The New York Times earlier reported that U.S. intelligence had identified Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen, as a conduit for information to Beijing and that she had developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang. The newspaper also said President Donald Trump was briefed on the findings about a year ago.
Nvidia declined to comment directly on the letter, but a company spokesperson reiterated a prior statement to the Times, noting that Jensen Huang’s meetings with Alice Huang are comparable to his interactions with other executive clients and that “our regional cloud customers receive ordinary business information — not sensitive NVIDIA trade secrets—and zero information relevant to national security.” The spokesperson added that “meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year,” and expressed confidence that the U.S. government would notify the company if any individual posed a threat to American industry.
The lawmakers proposed an in-person joint briefing on Nov. 18, a day before Nvidia is scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings.
"China's access to that sensitive U.S. tech is core to the investigative work of our three committees this Congress," the committee leaders wrote. "It is vital that Congress determines the extent to which U.S. national security has been placed at risk."