Beijing dismissed allegations that it spied on Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang, an episode that is spiraling a little over a week before a meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump.
“The so-called Chinese spy allegation is unsubstantiated,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing in Beijing. Guo repeated a stance China first took on Oct. 30 after the New York Times reported that US spies apparently found that a Chinese businesswoman who had a relationship with Huang was passing intelligence to Beijing.
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“It is nothing but smears against China,” Guo added at the briefing on Monday.
The episode could complicate the Xi-Trump summit set for next week at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering in the southern Chinese city Shenzhen. The third meeting between the leaders between the world's largest economies will be closely watched for signs they can maintain a fragile trade truce, especially after Trump's Republican Party lost control of Congress in midterm elections.
Photo Credit: Bloomberg News
The incident also threatens to further roil an artificial intelligence market shaken by concerns about a slowdown in data center spending. Nvidia makes chips that are crucial to AI computing equipment and is one of the world's most valuable businesses.
Huang has admitted an affair after a series of reports identified a woman linked to him as a suspected Chinese spy. Last week, key House Republicans requested a briefing with Huang to discuss his dealings with Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le.
To investigate the case, the Nvidia board is assembling a committee of independent directors who will work with outside counsel, according to a statement Sunday. The probe follows a series of reports that Nvidia's leader was targeted by Alice Huang, a former executive at Megaspeed International. Megaspeed, based in Singapore, has been accused of breaking US export restrictions and smuggling Nvidia chips to China.
Trump defended Huang, calling him a “fine person” and saying he should remain CEO.
George Chen, partner and chair of digital practice at The Asia Group, an advisory firm based on Washington, said it was difficult to imagine Nvidia without Huang. “I don't think it will serve the best interests of Nvidia shareholders and industry partners either if Jensen suddenly quits tomorrow,” Chen said.
“There is little benefit in rushing to judgment before the facts are known,” he added. “Investors and the broader technology community should remain calm rather than react out of panic or speculation and that will not serve American national interests either.”
Also on Monday, the state-run Global Times newspaper denied Beijing had any link to Huang's affair, accusing US media of spreading a false narrative and warning the issue could hurt ties. It said said outlets, the New York Times in particular, were “going crazy” with speculative stories.
“All it took were a few photographs showing Asian faces and Nvidia's previous efforts to push for relaxing trade curbs on China,” the commentary said. “This is precisely how American media, which have long styled themselves as ‘objective,' manufacture stories.”
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“Whenever China-US relations begin to improve, someone often fires a cold shot from behind,” the newspaper said, claiming there were likely behind-the-scenes efforts to “stir up confrontation,” without providing any evidence. It warned that an “anti-China script” would disrupt normal tech and trade exchanges, and damage the interests of both sides.
The Global Times commentary also compared the episode to an incident in 2023 in which a Chinese balloon flew over the US, causing a diplomatic dispute. Beijing said a civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research strayed off course due to the weather, while Washington described it as a surveillance aircraft and shot it down over the sea.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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