China rejects report alleging executive with ties to Nvidia CEO worked for Beijing

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - China on Friday rejected a report by The New York Times alleging that an executive with close ties to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was gathering intelligence for Beijing and that US President Donald Trump took no action after being briefed on the matter.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun dismissed the allegations as "unsubstantiated" and "nothing but a smear against China."

The executive, Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le and unrelated to Nvidia's CEO, held a senior position at Singapore-based data center company Megaspeed, which was already under investigation on suspicion of helping China circumvent US restrictions on advanced artificial intelligence chips.

Electronic surveillance identified her as a Chinese intelligence asset and revealed her close relationship with Jensen Huang, according to the newspaper.

Trump was briefed on the alleged activity roughly a year ago but chose not to act, the report said.

- China criticizes proposed US telecom restrictions

Separately, Guo criticized plans by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to vote next month on barring Chinese telecommunications companies from direct access to US phone numbers.

He also opposed the agency's move to prohibit Chinese laboratories from testing smartphones and other electronic devices seeking entry into the US market.

"China firmly opposes and deplores the abuse of state power in unreasonably suppressing Chinese firms," Guo said.

"The US' practice seriously obstructs normal economic and trade exchanges between Chinese and US companies and does not serve the interests of any party, including US companies and consumers. China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests," he added.

Riyaz Khaliq Khaliq