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How close is Donald Trump to Jensen Huang?
Answer: Very close.
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang was among the few business leaders with direct access to the US president; He met Trump repeatedly, traveled with him to Britain, and joined him in May on Air Force One during his trip to China.
Jensen was not just another tech billionaire seeking the president's ear. He became an important voice in one of the biggest debates within the administration: To what extent should the most advanced American technology be allowed into China?
NVIDIA manufactures the chips that power the artificial intelligence revolution, and Washington has imposed restrictions on the export of the company's most advanced processors to China since 2022, believing that these processors may help Beijing develop its military and technological capabilities.
But enforcing these restrictions is difficult; The chips can be purchased legally by customers in countries such as Singapore and Malaysia and then transferred to China. Chinese companies can also rent computing power through data centers outside the country.
Jensen Huang has long argued that such restrictions are counterproductive; It excludes Nvidia from a huge market and encourages Chinese companies to develop their own alternatives.
Trump seemed to be sympathetic to this view; Nvidia was allowed to resume selling some chips to China last year in exchange for a share of the revenue, although more advanced Blackwell chips remain banned.
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But that relationship now seems more complex.
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The allegations about Jensen Huang's alleged relationship with Alice Huang - who is not related to him but was a former executive at Megaspeed in Singapore - raised the possibility that behind it was a foreign intelligence operation targeting not only a powerful businessman, but someone with extraordinary access to the US President.
According to reports, American intelligence services suspect that Alice Huang has ties to Chinese intelligence. These are accusations that Beijing rejects.
Nvidia's board of directors says it has no reason to believe that company secrets or national security were compromised.
But the relationship opened the door to a much larger question about whether the Washington administration knew, and what did it do about it?
That question led directly to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose department was responsible for policing sensitive U.S. technology exports and had been under pressure to act on concerns about Megaspeed, an Nvidia customer suspected of helping divert advanced chips to China.
On Thursday, Megaspeed CEO Tan Yong Pong, also known as James Tan, said the company “takes its obligations to comply with US export control laws very seriously” and is “committed to constructive and transparent cooperation with the US government.”
Megaspeed's president added that the company cooperated with inspections conducted by the US Department of Commerce.
A highly confidential memo was shared with Lutnick regarding concerns related to Alice Huang and Megaspeed. But he resisted taking action against the company, a decision that is now under scrutiny.
Other senior officials wanted a tougher response. Treasury Secretary Scott Besent was reportedly among those who asked why Megaspeed was not on the Commerce Department's blacklist.
Questions were also raised about why the investigation into the Singaporean company was halted after Nvidia’s intervention. The New York Times reported that Nvidia's general counsel reached out to Commerce Department investigators who were investigating the alleged smuggling of chips through Megaspeed, citing a senior official appointed by Trump.
The department then reportedly froze its investigation and referred the case to the Justice Department, appearing to highlight a major disagreement over the direction of Trump's China policy.
Huang wanted to reach the Chinese market. While other officials were reportedly concerned about the repercussions on national security. As for Lutnick, he found himself stuck in the middle.
Now political pressure is increasing.
Image source: Reuters
There are members of Congress from both parties who want answers.
Democratic members launched an investigation into how the Commerce Department scrutinized Chinese companies that were allowed to buy artificial intelligence chips. Republicans also began to question the administration's approach.
Jensen Huang's departure did not ease the pressure.
Republican Representative John Moolenaar, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said it is in the US national interest for Nvidia and other American AI companies to succeed, but that these companies "should never jeopardize our nation's security" by giving Chinese companies access to their most advanced chips.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said Huang's resignation does not absolve him of responsibility, and urged Lutnick to explain why loopholes in the export control system persist.
Meanwhile, Jensen Huang's team told Republican lawmakers on Wednesday that it intends to cooperate with their request to testify in closed session.
The White House did not respond to a BBC request to comment on the case.
But the White House told the New York Post that Trump has full confidence in Lutnick, calling him "the most transformative commerce secretary in modern history."
That represents very strong support, especially amid reports that officials are considering whether Lutnick should be forced out of office.
But questions remain: If Lutnick was indeed warned of the risks, why did his ministry fail to act? If other senior officials were already pushing for action, why did it take so long?
The BBC contacted the Ministry of Commerce for comment.
But a bigger question awaits President Trump: He has built a close relationship with Huang, has been directly involved in decisions about selling chips to China, and, according to the New York Times, has been briefed on intelligence concerns.
It has become difficult to consider the matter merely a miscalculation by one businessman or one government ministry.
Jensen Huang's personal life may have been the spark that sparked the crisis, but questions are now reaching the White House itself: How big was his influence? What did the president know? Who was ultimately responsible for protecting America's most sensitive technologies?
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