‘Smear campaign against Beijing’: China rejects spying charges against Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang
China on Monday rejected allegations that it spied Nvidia Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jensen Huang, describing the allegations as “unsubstantiated” and a “smear campaign” against Beijing.
“The so-called Chinese spy allegation is unsubstantiated. It is nothing but smears against China,” China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said in a statement.
The controversy erupted after a The New York Times (NYT) reported that Huang had developed a “close relationship” with a Chinese citizen and businesswoman named Alice Huang, who believes to be an intelligent asset for Beijing. Huang has admitted to having an affair with Huang. He also apologised to his wife and son, saying he has no excuse for what he did.
“I was unfaithful to my wife,” he said in a message to company employees. “My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.”
Later, Nvidia said the company’s board has no “reason to believe that either national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised”, assuring that it would launch an investigation into the case. Despite this assurance, Nvidia shares dropped around 5 per cent in pre-market trading on Monday.
Huang’s push to loosen chip sales restrictions to China
According to the Associated Press (AP), Huang in recent years had pushed loosen chip sales restrictions to China. He also lobbied for US President Donald Trump to allow his company to sell H200 chips this year, but there is no clarity whether Beijing would allow Chinese companies to buy these chips en masse.
Nvidia said earlier this year in a filing in August that it sold only a small amount to China as such sales are restricted by the Chinese government.
While those chips are not Nvidia’s most cutting-edge models, they are still advanced. Previously, Huang also lobbied Trump to sell the less-advanced H20 chips, which were designed for the Chinese market while complying with U.S. export restrictions.
Chinese media have largely focused on Huang admitting to the affair and state media outlets have mainly echoed the official government line. Some have said the New York Times report was aimed at destabilizing U.S.-China relations.
“Whenever China-US relations begin to improve, there are often those firing shots from the shadows,” the state-owned Global Times said.
(With inputs from AP)
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