China has dismissed allegations of a Chinese spy operation targeting Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang as “unsubstantiated” and “nothing but smears against China”.
“The so-called Chinese spy allegation is groundless. It is nothing but a smear against China,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing on Monday.
The response follows media reports that Nvidia had launched an investigation into whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation after acknowledging an affair with a woman suspected by US officials of working for Chinese intelligence.
According to The New York Times, US intelligence officials believe Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman linked to Singapore-based data centre firm Megaspeed, was gathering information for Beijing on the US chipmaker.
Nvidia said its board had confidence in Huang and his leadership team, adding that the CEO had committed to cooperating with the investigation.
The company, one of the world's most valuable, said its board had no reason to believe its trade secrets or national security had been compromised and confirmed that Huang remained committed to leading the company.
