AMNA NAWAZ: For more on the national security risks of Nvidia's CEO having an affair with a possible foreign intelligence agent, we turn to Christopher Johnson.

He had a 20-year career in the U.S.

intelligence community where he focused on China.

He now runs his own consulting firm, the China Strategies Group.

Welcome, and thanks for being with us.

So, Jensen Huang has admitted to this affair.

Alice Huang is accused of being a spy.

What does China have to gain from one of their alleged assets having an affair with the head of Nvidia?

What possible information could that yield?

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON, President and CEO, China Strategies Group: Well, that's a key question in all this is -- I think first some background.

When China sets a national strategic priority or a whole-of-country effort like this, they will do anything they can to achieve the objective, and that includes working their way, buying their way, and often stealing their way to a capability, whether it's a technology or something else they need.

So, in this case, we need to look at, what was the sort of motivation, if you will, behind the operation?

I see two possibilities.

One is that they wanted to place someone physically close to Mr.

Huang in order to have access to his electronic equipment, his phones, his computer, things like that.

The reporting we have seen so far suggests a broader influence operation, however, where the goal seemed to be to encourage Mr.

Huang to use his access to President Trump, probably not to rescind existing export controls, but to prevent him from issuing new ones that would limit Nvidia sales to China.

And so, in that case, that tells us pretty clearly that the Chinese, despite their public rhetoric about making great strides in AI and so on and so forth, are still very, very worried about this fundamental choke hold that faces them, which is the U.S.

control over the export of these advanced chips.

AMNA NAWAZ: And from what you know about Chinese intelligence operations and techniques, how typical is it for them to do this kind of thing, recruit an agent, someone to have an intimate relationship with a potential U.S.

target?

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON: Well, it's somewhat odd in their history.

They're not above it, of course, but you see this a lot more with the Russian services, I would argue, and so on.

Oftentimes, we do see the Chinese Ministry of State Security, however, engaging in access agent operations, where they find someone who is close to an individual that they're targeting and use that person in order to gain influence with the person who's their ultimate target.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, for U.S.

lawmakers who now say they want to get some answers, try to determine the extent to which U.S.

national security may have been put at risk, I heard you mention that one of the aims here could be proximity to Huang's personal devices, his phone and laptop and such.

What kinds of questions should lawmakers be asking right now to determine that potential national security risk?

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON: Well, I think they're going to be asking a lot of questions, one of which will be, based on some of the reporting we have seen, there seems to be some lack of clarity with regard to the process inside the Trump administration for how this issue came to light.

In a typical investigation, a counterintelligence investigation like this, we would expect to see activity by the Department of Justice's National Security Division, the FBI, and, of course, the CIA's counterintelligence function.

In some ways, it sounds like Secretary Rubio was running this process this time, which is somewhat unusual.

So, if I'm a lawmaker, I want to know what was happening in terms of the process.

We certainly want to know, did Mr.

Huang have any awareness of this person's affiliation with Chinese intelligence?

My guess is, he probably did not.

Also they will be asking serious questions about concerns about diversion of Chinese -- Nvidia chips to Chinese companies through these companies like Ms.

Huang's in Southeast Asia.

AMNA NAWAZ: The reporting so far that President Donald Trump, other Trump administration officials were briefed about the affair roughly a year before these public revelations, and as The New York Times has reported that they chose not to do anything with that information, what is your reaction to that?

Does that say to you in any way that there's already been a determination that there was no national security risk here?

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON: I don't think so.

I think what it reflects -- and we saw it in President Trump's interview on "60 Minutes" last night.

When asked about artificial intelligence, or, as he calls it, superintelligence, his answer was very clear, which is, we're in a competition with China, we're in a war, if you will, with China to lead in artificial intelligence, and I don't want to do anything that slows us down in that competition.

Nvidia is critical, right, to that competition.

And I think the president probably thought there may not be enough here to pursue.

Now, I think, with all this scrutiny, obviously, he said today that the FBI is investigating and looking into the situation, so he's showing provisional backing for Mr.

Huang, but we will see what comes out of the investigation.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, we should remind folks Jensen Huang did fly with President Trump on Air Force One to China earlier in this year in May.

He's one of a number of tech CEOs to join him on that trip.

President Trump could be meeting with Xi Jinping again later this month on the sidelines of the APEC summit, and it's reported that he wants Jensen Huang to come with him again.

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON: Yes.

AMNA NAWAZ: In your view, is that appropriate?

Is that a smart move right now?

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON: Well, I think it's up to the president, but there certainly raises a lot of questions.

And I think, if I'm President Trump, I'd be concerned about his attendance overshadowing the meeting I'm going to have with President Xi Jinping, where they will be discussing very important matters in the bilateral relationship.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, that is Chris Johnson of the China Strategies Group, joining us tonight.

Thank you so much for your time.

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON: Thank you.