China calls spy allegation involving Nvidia CEO a smear campaign

China denied on Monday that there was a spy plot involving Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, calling the spying allegations unsubstantiated and a smear campaign against Beijing.

“The so-called Chinese spy allegation is unsubstantiated. It is nothing but smears against China,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday.

Huang has acknowledged to the Nvidia board that he had been intimate with a business executive who U.S. intelligence determined was gathering information for Beijing, according to The New York Times. Huang did not name the person in the extramarital affair.

Nvidia said on Sunday that the company would launch an investigation into the case. Nvidia said in a statement it had “no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised,” but that its “Board’s inquiry will examine all available information.”

Also on Monday, Nvidia shares dropped roughly five per cent in pre-market trading.

The chips company CEO is at the centre of a controversy over whether he drove sales of advanced computer chips to China, in spite of U.S. tech restrictions aimed at limiting China’s ability to access these advanced technologies. Nvidia is one of the world’s most valuable publicly traded companies, alongside Apple and Microsoft.

Huang had pushed to loosen chip sales restrictions to China in recent years, successfully lobbying U.S. President Donald Trump to allow his company to sell H200 chips this year. However, it is uncertain if Beijing would allow Chinese companies to buy these chips en masse. Nvidia said in a filing in August that it sold only a small amount to China as such sales are restricted by the Chinese government.

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-U.S. relations begin to improve, there are often those firing shots from the shadows,” the state-owned Global Times said.

“The key questions are whether he was aware of any espionage activities and whether any confidential or strategically sensitive information was compromised,” said George Chen, a partner and chair of digital practice at The Asia Group, a Washington-based consultancy.

“Those questions require evidence rather than speculation,” he added in a text message to reporters.

Sources

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.