Beijing: China on Monday denied allegations that a Chinese businesswoman connected to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was involved in an alleged spy ring.
“The so-called Chinese spy allegation is unsubstantiated. It is nothing but smears against China.” It’s simply China being smeared, Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said when asked about the scandal.
The scandal arose after The New York Times reported that Jensen Huang had formed a close friendship with a Chinese businesswoman named Alice Huang who is now suspected to be connected to Beijing’s intelligence network.
The report has caused Jensen Huang to admit to being unfaithful to his wife and apologise to his family and staff at Nvidia.
“My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did. I am deeply sorry.” I’m very sorry, he said in a message to employees.
No Reason To Believe National Security Or Confidentiality Compromised At Nvidia
Following the allegations, Nvidia said there was no reason to believe that national security in the US or the confidentiality of the company had been compromised.
However, they said that an investigation will be conducted.
The news of the scandal resulted in Nvidia’s share price dropping around five percent in pre-market trading on Monday.
Jensen Huang’s Efforts To Sell Chips To China
The scandal has also raised attention around Jensen Huang’s efforts to loosen US restrictions on selling advanced semiconductors to China.
It was reported by the Associated Press that Jensen Huang had lobbied US President Donald Trump to allow Nvidia to sell their H200 artificial intelligence chips to Chinese clients this year. However, it is unknown whether Beijing would allow Chinese companies to buy the chips in large volumes.
Nvidia previously revealed in an August filing that they had sold a small amount of chips to China due to restrictions set by the Chinese government.
Although the H200 is not the most advanced chip produced by Nvidia, it is still an extremely powerful artificial intelligence processor.
Huang had also previously tried to sell Nvidia’s H20 chips to China. The processors had been specifically created for the Chinese market to abide by the US export restrictions.
Chinese Media Accuse Report Of Trying To Weaken US-China Relations
Chinese state media have mainly reported on Huang’s confession to being unfaithful, however several have agreed with Beijing’s denial of the espionage allegations.
The state-owned Global Times said the report was an attempt to weaken improving relations between Washington and Beijing.
“Whenever China-US relations begin to improve, there are often those firing shots from the shadows,” the newspaper said.
China’s denial comes as there has been ongoing tensions between the two nations regarding advanced semiconductor technology, artificial intelligence and chip export restrictions.