Chinese authorities stated this Thursday that the espionage allegations launched against Beijing over its alleged involvement in the extramarital relationship of the founder and CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, are only intended to "justify the technological blockade" imposed by the United States.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mao Ning, recalled that the Asian country had already "previously dismissed reports about a supposed espionage scandal involving Nvidia" and stressed that everything is the result of a "discrediting campaign".
During a press briefing collected by the newspaper Global Times, Mao insisted that "China's technological progress is built on independent innovation and open cooperation. The U.S. side should stop fabricating espionage narratives as a pretext to impose a technological blockade".
Asked about a possible impact of this case on the upcoming meeting between the presidents of China and the United States, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump, the spokesperson reiterated that Beijing "has already made its position clear on the issue".
In this regard, she defended that "The United States should stop inventing these narratives to justify its technological blockade. China and the United States maintain close communication regarding interactions between the leaders of both countries. We are willing to work together to fully implement the important consensus reached by the two presidents and move forward in a constructive relationship between the parties based on respect, equality, and reciprocity".
The case came to light after Nvidia's board of directors announced the opening of an internal investigation, following press reports that pointed to a possible "foreign Intelligence operation" surrounding the executive's extramarital relationship.
The company made this decision after Huang admitted having been unfaithful to his wife and having maintained a relationship with a woman which, according to U.S. authorities, would have ties to Chinese Intelligence.
That woman is Chinese businesswoman Alice Huang, based in Singapore, whose firm is related to the trade in artificial intelligence chips and which was under surveillance by U.S. Intelligence services.