Top Republican lawmakers in the United States have asked Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang to testify before Congress following reports that US intelligence officials believe he was targeted by a Chinese espionage operation.
Congressional Briefing Request
The chairs of the House committees on China, foreign affairs, and intelligence sent a letter to Huang requesting his presence at a joint closed-door briefing on November 18. Representatives John Moolenaar, Brian Mast, and Rick Crawford cited significant concerns over potential foreign access to advanced American systems.
“Recent reports raise significant national security concerns regarding the People’s Republic of China’s access to sensitive US technology and information,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
The committee leaders stated that examining potential infiltration is central to their current legislative oversight. “The issue of PRC infiltration and access to cutting-edge US technology is core to the investigative work of our three committees this Congress. It is vital that Congress determines the extent to which US national security has been placed at risk,” they added.
Espionage Allegations and Response
The congressional summons stems from reporting by The New York Times, which revealed that US intelligence officials believed Huang was the focus of a Chinese intelligence operation. Concerns focused on Alice Huang, an executive at Megaspeed, a cloud enterprise based in Singapore that has bought billions of dollars worth of Nvidia microchips.
Nvidia has rejected the allegations regarding the espionage concerns. On Thursday, the technology company did not clarify whether Huang will appear at the November 18 congressional briefing. Defending the chief executive’s routine engagements, the company stated, “Meetings with customers are part of a CEO’s job. Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year.”
