House Republicans ask Nvidia's Jensen Huang for closed-door briefing on China spy report

Three Republican committee chairmen in the U.S. House of Representatives have asked Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang to appear for a closed-door briefing about his interactions with a tech executive described in news reports as a Chinese intelligence asset.

The request came in a letter dated Wednesday and made public Thursday. It was signed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast of Florida, Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar of Michigan and House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Rick Crawford of Arkansas.

What the lawmakers want

The three Republicans wrote that recent reports "raise significant national security concerns regarding the PRC's access to sensitive U.S. technology and information," using the acronym for the People's Republic of China. They asked for information about Huang's dealings with Megaspeed executive Alice Huang and about Nvidia's "security protocols against foreign adversary espionage." The letter does not identify the reports it cites.

What the reporting says

The New York Times reported last week that U.S. intelligence found Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen determined to be funneling information to Beijing, had developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang. The newspaper, citing interviews with people briefed on the surveillance and other sources, said President Donald Trump was briefed on those findings about a year ago and "chose not to do anything with the information." Trump has built close ties with Jensen Huang while promoting the U.S. artificial intelligence industry.

Nvidia's response

Nvidia did not directly answer CNBC's request for comment on the letter, nor did it confirm whether Huang would attend. The company instead provided a statement that largely repeated one it had previously sent the Times, saying its regional cloud customers receive ordinary business information — not sensitive Nvidia trade secrets — and nothing relevant to national security.

"Meetings with customers are part of a CEO's job; Jensen talks with thousands of customer executives every year," a spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that the company is confident the U.S. government would let it know if it believed any person was a threat to American industry.

A spokeswoman for Mast did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for additional information, and Megaspeed did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Timing

Lawmakers invited the Nvidia CEO to an in-person joint briefing on Nov. 18. Nvidia is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings on Nov. 17. The committee leaders wrote that China's access to sensitive U.S. technology is "core to the investigative work of our three committees this Congress," and said it is vital that Congress determine the extent to which U.S. national security has been placed at risk.

Source: CNBC Top News.