The key facts

  • The US intelligence reportedly monitored a senior employee of Singapore-based Megaspeed, suspected of leaking information to China.
  • China's Foreign Ministry dismissed the report as an attempt to smear China.
  • According to the New York Times, President Trump was informed of the intelligence findings about a year ago but chose not to take action.

Publication and Beijing's Response

On Friday, China rejected a New York Times report alleging a spy operation linked to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, calling it 'baseless speculation.' According to the NYT, US intelligence previously determined that a senior employee of a Singaporean data center, named Alice Huang (Huang Le), was transmitting information to Beijing. The publication claims she was under surveillance due to suspicions of smuggling AI chips to China and maintained close working ties with the head of Nvidia. Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun, stated at a briefing that the report was 'nothing more than an attempt to smear China.'

Nvidia's Position and Context

A Nvidia representative told AFP that 'Jensen's interactions with Ms. Huang were nothing unusual or unexpected,' and that Megaspeed, where Alice Huang worked, is a regular regional client. He stated that regional cloud clients receive 'standard business information, not sensitive Nvidia trade secrets—and zero information related to national security,' adding that allegations of chip smuggling to China 'were thoroughly investigated and refuted last year.' The New York Times also reported that US President Donald Trump was informed of the intelligence findings about a year ago but decided not to take action. The report emerged amid US-China competition in the AI sector and American restrictions on exporting the most powerful chips to China; last month, Trump and Xi Jinping discussed AI security issues, and a new meeting between the leaders is expected in November.