China dismisses allegations it used honeypot to ensnare Nvidia’s Jensen Huang

China’s foreign ministry denied that the communist country was involved in an alleged plot to gain access to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang through a honey trap.Nvidia announced Sunday that it opened an independent investigation into Huang after reports that he was involved romantically with a woman who U.S. intelligence deemed to be a Chinese spy. The company said the investigation centered on allegations that Huang was “the target of a foreign intelligence effort.”“The ‘Chinese spy’ allegation is purely unsubstantiated and directed at smearing China,” Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Monday. Nvidia’s investigation follows a New York Times report that Huang and Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang had developed a “close relationship.” U.S. officials deemed her to be an intelligence threat who was “funneling information to Beijing” and “helping China evade constraints on its ability to gain access to advanced [artificial intelligence] chips,” the outlet reported.Nvidia, headed by Jensen Huang, is an American company that leads the artificial intelligence chip industry with its advanced hardware. Chinese technology companies have sought Nvidia’s advanced computer chips, but there have been restrictions on Nvidia’s imports into the country amid the U.S. artificial intelligence race with China.Alice Huang, with whom Huang was reportedly romantically involved, was a top executive at a Singaporean data center company that was accused of trying to import Nvidia’s chips into China.Nvidia’s Huang wrote in an email to his company, obtained by Axios, that he was “unfaithful” to his wife.“My actions hurt her and our children,” Huang said, referring to his wife of over 40 years. “There is no excuse for what I did. Leading Nvidia is the privilege of my life. I am fully committed to Nvidia and will work to earn back your confidence.”NVIDIA DEFENDS CEO’S TIES TO EXECUTIVE ACCUSED OF AIDING CHINESE INTELLIGENCENvidia’s Board of Directors said in a statement on Sunday that it believed none of the company’s secrets had been compromised.“While the Board has no reason to believe that either national security or NVIDIA secrets were compromised, the Board’s inquiry will examine all available information. Jensen fully supports the review and has committed to cooperating with it. The Board has confidence in Jensen and his leadership team and will provide further updates as appropriate,” the board statement said.