China warns US against using espionage claims to restrict chip access

China has accused the United States of exploiting allegations of espionage involving Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang to justify restrictions on its access to advanced technology, escalating tensions ahead of a planned meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning made the accusation on Thursday, rejecting claims that Huang was targeted in an alleged Chinese intelligence operation.

“China’s technological progress is driven by independent innovation and open cooperation,” Mao told a regular briefing.

“The US side should stop fabricating such ‘spy’ narratives as a pretext for imposing a technological blockade,” she added.

The dispute follows reports linking Alice Huang, reportedly a former executive at Singapore-based Megaspeed and said to have worked for Chinese intelligence, to the Nvidia boss.

China has dismissed the allegations surrounding the reported espionage plot as “groundless speculation” and an attempt to smear the country.

Jensen Huang, who co-founded Nvidia and built it into the world's leading supplier of chips used in artificial intelligence systems, has spent years lobbying against restrictions on advanced chip sales to China.

The controversy comes amid wider US-China competition over artificial intelligence technology and access to the advanced semiconductors needed to develop it.

US President Donald Trump last year approved the export of Nvidia's H200 chips to China, despite objections from lawmakers in both major political parties who expressed concerns that Beijing could gain an advantage in the global AI race.

The latest exchange comes ahead of a planned meeting between Trump and Xi next week on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation gathering in Shenzhen, southern China.

The meeting is expected to take place against the backdrop of tensions over technology, trade and strategic competition between the two countries.