Nvidia Fallout Looms Over Trump-Xi Meeting

At major moments in President Trump’s second term, he has looked up during an economic speech or diplomatic dinner and asked a version of the same question: “Where’s Jensen?”

Jensen Huang has usually been out there, somewhere in the room.

Mr. Huang, who was until Thursday the leather-jacketed chief executive of Nvidia, one of the world’s largest companies, had impressed the president with his success, his money and his argument that keeping China dependent on American-made semiconductor chips and technology could help maintain U.S. dominance over Beijing.

Mr. Trump made sure to have the technology executive with him during pivotal U.S.-China meetings this year. The president invited him to come to China in May when he went to meet with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, stopping in Alaska, where Mr. Huang joined him on Air Force One at the last minute. And Mr. Huang was at the head table with the president when Mr. Trump hosted a state dinner for Mr. Xi at the White House in September.

But when Mr. Trump travels to China for another meeting with Mr. Xi at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Shenzhen this week, Mr. Huang, the man who has been influential in shaping the president’s views about technological competition with China, is not expected to be at his side.

Last week, Mr. Huang stepped down from his role at Nvidia after revelations that he had engaged in affairs, including one with Alice Huang, a woman who U.S. intelligence officials believe is an asset of Beijing.

Mr. Huang’s sudden fall and the U.S. finding that he was targeted by Chinese intelligence do not appear to have altered Mr. Trump’s estimation of the former Nvidia leader — or his approach to dealing with his Chinese counterpart in this week’s meeting. (Beijing has called the U.S. intelligence conclusions “smears and slanders.”)