China on Friday rejected allegations that a Chinese executive was involved in a spy operation targeting Jensen Huang, the CEO of US semiconductor company Nvidia. The claims, which appeared in a recent report by The New York Times, were dismissed by Beijing as unfounded and part of an effort to discredit the country.
The report, published Thursday, said that US intelligence agencies had uncovered a plot involving a Chinese executive linked to Megaspeed, a data centre company based in Singapore. According to the report, the executive had allegedly passed sensitive information to Chinese authorities, potentially gaining insight into US positions on artificial intelligence ahead of high-level talks between former President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
At a regular briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun described the story as “groundless speculation” and a smear attempt against China. “The report in question is based on groundless speculation and is nothing more than an attempt to smear China,” Guo said.
The executive implicated, Alice Huang — also known as Huang Le — is reportedly unconnected to Nvidia’s 63-year-old Taiwanese-born CEO Jensen Huang but reportedly had close contact with him, according to the report. The intelligence allegedly dates back to about a year ago, at which point Trump was informed but opted against taking action.
Nvidia, which is currently the world’s most valuable technology firm driven by its dominance in AI chips used for data centre applications, is at the center of ongoing tensions between the United States and China. The US government has imposed export controls to limit China’s access to advanced semiconductor technologies, in efforts to curb China’s ambitions in AI and semiconductor production.
An Nvidia spokesperson responded to the allegations on Friday, characterizing Megaspeed as a typical regional customer and denying any unusual or inappropriate interactions between Jensen Huang and Alice Huang. The company emphasized that business dealings with regional cloud customers involve only standard commercial information and “zero information relevant to national security.”
The spokesperson further noted that previous accusations of Megaspeed smuggling Nvidia’s chips into China had been “thoroughly investigated and debunked last year.”
Attempts to reach Megaspeed for comment were unsuccessful. Calls to the phone number listed on the company’s website connected to an individual unfamiliar with the company and using a residential line.
The story adds to existing tensions between the US and China as both countries vie for leadership in cutting-edge technology sectors, particularly artificial intelligence, an area in which Nvidia’s products play a crucial role.