Elon Musk and Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach are expected to accompany President Donald Trump on his upcoming visit to China, while Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s participation remains uncertain.
The South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday that Tesla’s Musk and Mastercard’s Miebach are likely to join Trump’s delegation for next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen.
The leaders’ meeting is scheduled for November 18-19.
Will Jensen Huang visit China with Trump?
Huang had also been in discussions about joining the delegation, but his attendance is now in doubt following an investigation launched by Nvidia’s board into whether the chipmaker’s chief executive was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.
All three executives had accompanied Trump during his state visit to Beijing in May.
The uncertainty surrounding Huang’s participation comes after reports linked him to Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman whom US intelligence officials suspect to be an intelligence asset passing commercial information to Beijing.
Alice Huang previously held an executive position at Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed.
The Nvidia boss has acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife in a message to Nvidia employees but did not disclose details of the relationship.
The company’s board subsequently launched an independent investigation to determine whether he had been targeted by a foreign intelligence operation.
Huang has been summoned by three House representatives on November 18 to answer questions around the matter.
A separate report by The Information alleged that Alice Huang and her associates facilitated at least $7.5 billion in Nvidia chip shipments to Chinese companies.
What has Trump said about Huang?
Trump has publicly defended the Nvidia chief despite the controversy.
Asked on Sunday whether he would take Huang on his upcoming Asia trip, Trump responded, “I don’t know, but I’d certainly take him.”
On Monday, Trump said he had spoken directly with Huang and asked whether he knew the businesswoman was allegedly a spy.
“He said, ‘I had no idea that she was a spy,’ and I really believe him,” Trump told reporters.
Trump also said the FBI was looking into the matter and expressed confidence that Huang would be able to address the allegations.
Huang’s potential participation is particularly important because Nvidia continues to face difficulties securing Chinese regulatory approval to sell its advanced H200 artificial intelligence chips in the country.
The company’s CEO has been actively involved in discussions with the Trump administration over US export restrictions and Nvidia’s access to the Chinese market.
His presence in the delegation could therefore have provided an opportunity to discuss technology trade and semiconductor access with Chinese officials.
Neither Nvidia, Tesla, Mastercard nor the White House has publicly confirmed the final composition of Trump’s delegation.
AI disclosure: AI tools assisted with research and drafting of this piece. An Invezz editor reviewed the facts, sources and wording before publication. Any opinions or analysis are Invezz’s, not those of an automated system.
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