Chinese authorities have rejected allegations that Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang was targeted by Chinese espionage, calling the claims entirely without foundation. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun described the assertions as "completely unfounded" on Monday, according to VG.
The denial came a day after the board of the chip giant said it would examine the matter, following Huang's admission that he had a relationship with a woman whom US authorities connect to a Chinese intelligence organization.
Why it matters
Nvidia sits at the center of the global artificial intelligence boom, and its chips are among the most restricted technology in US export controls aimed at China. Any question about the chief executive's exposure to foreign intelligence carries weight well beyond the company, touching national security, trade policy and the wider AI rivalry between Washington and Beijing.
The story also lands at a delicate diplomatic moment. AI policy and the US-China relationship in that field are expected to be a major topic when President Donald Trump meets Xi Jinping in China later this month, according to VG.
What the reporting says
The New York Times reported last month, citing US intelligence officials, that a Chinese woman named Alice Huang had passed information to Beijing. She is reportedly one of the leaders of Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company.
Megaspeed is already under scrutiny over attempts to sell AI chips to China, a trade that is highly sensitive and tightly restricted by US authorities. Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, is not related to the 63-year-old Nvidia chief, the newspaper reported. According to the New York Times, she developed a close relationship with Jensen Huang.
The Times also reported that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned the Trump administration about the relationship. Among the reasons was that Megaspeed had bought advanced AI chips from Nvidia while the company was under investigation for possible illegal smuggling of such chips into China.
According to the newspaper, US authorities concluded in a memo that the woman had been recruited by the MSS, China's main civilian intelligence service. Rubio's direct involvement in the warning had not previously been known, the Times said. The memo was shared with senior government figures ahead of Trump's visit to China in May, according to the paper's anonymous sources.
The New York Times wrote that Alice Huang's relationship with the Nvidia chief may have given her insight into President Trump's positions on AI-related questions.
Admission and reaction
In a statement on Sunday, the Taiwan-born Jensen Huang confirmed and apologized for the relationship. "I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions have hurt her and my children. There is no excuse for what I did. I regret it deeply," he said, as reported by VG.
Coverage of the admission spread quickly across Norwegian business and broadcast media. NRK reported that the Nvidia chief acknowledged the affair with the woman suspected of espionage, while Børsen.no reported an admission of a relationship with the espionage suspect.
Investors quoted by Dagens Næringsliv came to the chief executive's defense, with one describing him as irreplaceable to the United States. E24 reported that Trump has expressed support for Jensen Huang following the disclosures.
What to watch
The Nvidia board's review, the response from US officials and the Trump-Xi meeting later this month will determine how far the affair reaches into policy.
