China has denied making an attempt to ensnare Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, saying spying allegations were unsubstantiated and a smear campaign against Beijing.
Mr Huang has acknowledged he had been intimate with a business executive, issuing an apology to his wife and to the company in an open letter posted on Nvidia’s website. He did not name the woman.
Nvidia announced on Sunday that it was conducting an independent investigation into reports that Mr Huang was the “target of a foreign intelligence effort”.
The New York Times reported that US intelligence determined that the woman was gathering information for Beijing.
“I support the investigation and will co-operate fully. I love our country and our company. I am committed to protecting Nvidia and supporting America’s national security,” Mr Huang said in his letter.
In a routine news briefing on Monday, a Chinese spokesperson rejected claims that Beijing used the woman as a spy.
“The so-called Chinese spy allegation is unsubstantiated. It is nothing but smears against China,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday.
Beijing had earlier dismissed the New York Times report saying Mr Huang had developed a close relationship with a Chinese citizen named Alice Huang, who ran a company that last year faced claims it was illicitly shipping advanced Nvidia computer chips to China.
Shares of Nvidia tumbled 8% at the opening bell on Wall Street on Monday.
The New York Times said Alice Huang was a former executive of a Singapore-based data centre company called Megaspeed International, whose website prominently touts its partnership with Nvidia.
Nvidia is one of the world’s most valuable publicly traded companies, alongside Apple and Microsoft. Its sales of computer chips to China have at times been targeted by US regulators seeking to limit Beijing’s access to such technology.
“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 chairman of digital practice at the Asia Group, a Washington-based consultancy.
“Those questions require evidence rather than speculation.”
Mr Huang has lobbied Washington to loosen limits on sales of Nvidia chips to China in recent years, winning US President Donald Trump’s approval for selling its H200 chips this year.
It is unclear if Beijing would allow Chinese companies to buy those chips in large quantities. Nvidia said in a regulatory filing in August that it has sold only a small amount to China as such sales are restricted by the Beijing government.
The H200 chips are not Nvidia’s most cutting-edge models but they are still advanced. Mr Huang lobbied Mr Trump to be allowed to sell Nvidia’s less-advanced H20 chips, which were designed to comply with US export restrictions on China.
Chinese media have largely focused on Mr 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 destabilising US-China relations.
“Whenever China-US relations begin to improve, there are often those firing shots from the shadows,” the state-owned Global Times said.
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