‘He always came through’: Elon Musk praises Jensen Huang, warns Nvidia could lose ‘critical’ deals without him

President Donald Trump will be traveling to the Philippines and China next week, accompanied by Elon Musk, the head of SpaceX and Tesla. Administration officials note that Musk's expertise in economic and national security makes him a valuable advisor to the president. The trip coincides with ongoing fallout from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's dismissal due to allegations of having an affair with a woman suspected of being a Chinese intelligence agent.

China denies the claim, and Huang's company, Megaspeed, was previously accused of shipping Nvidia's advanced chips to China. However, the administration does not anticipate Chinese retaliation over the matter and believes the situation should not impact the trip, as the U.S. does not rely on negotiations with foreign countries regarding export controls.

Discussions are ongoing about potential changes to existing trade measures, including export licensing and preventing Chinese firms from using advanced chips remotely. Trump's Asia trip will conclude with a trilateral meeting with Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, focusing on efforts to limit nuclear weapons. However, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will not be part of the discussions.

Trump will arrive in the Philippines on Tuesday to meet ASEAN counterparts, sign a trade deal with Thailand, and engage with the Quad, which includes the U.S., India, Australia, and Japan. On Wednesday, he will proceed to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, China, where he will meet with Xi for the third time this year.

The joint meeting with Xi and Putin will address topics such as the Iran conflict, though Russia's war in Ukraine is expected not to be on the agenda. Musk, whose company's technology has been crucial to Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion, will not be included in the trilateral meeting.