Trump received intelligence about Nvidia CEO Chinese spy incident ahead of trip to Beijing - report

According to the NYT, Trump received sensitive intelligence in May about a romantic relationship between Huang and a woman suspected of spying for China.

US President Donald Trump received intelligence about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's ties to a woman suspected of spying for China before Huang joined the presidential visit to Beijing, The New York Times reported on Tuesday citing officials familiar with the matter.

According to the NYT, Trump received sensitive intelligence in May about a romantic relationship between Huang and a woman suspected of spying for China.

The information was, according to the report, brought to Trump's attention ahead of his visit to China, contradicting his statements on Monday that he had been unaware of the relationship at the time.

The report centers on intelligence indicating that Huang had a romantic relationship with a woman whom US intelligence officials concluded was working for China's Ministry of State Security. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio was involved in preparing a classified intelligence document on the matter, which was distributed to senior administration officials before the presidential visit to Beijing.

According to NYT, this was at least the second time in seven months that Trump had been informed about the affair. Huang joined the presidential visit to China at Trump's invitation, after initially being excluded from the list of senior business executives invited to accompany him.

Trump claims not to have heard about China espionage before trip

On Monday, Trump was asked at a press conference whether he had known about the suspicious ties during his visit to China in May.

"No, I hadn't heard about it then," the president replied. His remarks contradict reports indicating that he had already received intelligence about the matter.

Trump said he had spoken with Huang and asked whether he knew that the woman with whom he had been involved was suspected of espionage. According to Trump, the Nvidia CEO replied that he had not been aware of the allegations.

The president expressed confidence in Huang's account, saying he believed Huang had been unaware of the woman's suspected activities.

The affair has raised questions about Huang's ties to the US administration and his influence on White House artificial intelligence policy. Nvidia plays a central role in the advanced semiconductor industry, which is at the heart of the technological competition between the United States and China.

Nvidia launches independent probe into suspected spy incident

Following the revelations, Nvidia announced that it had launched an independent investigation into the matter. The company said it had no reason to believe that its trade secrets or US national security had been compromised, but clarified that the investigation would examine the available information.

Meanwhile, Nvidia shares fell more than 4% during trading on Monday.

Trump said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was also examining the matter but continued to express support for Huang.

China, meanwhile, rejected the allegations of espionage targeting Nvidia's CEO, describing them as baseless.