China Tells U.S. to Stop Using Spy Claims as a Pretext for Tech Curbs

She was answering questions at a regular briefing in Beijing about whether the controversy surrounding Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang would weigh on China-U.S. relations and a possible meeting of the two countries’ leaders.

A reporter also asked how Beijing would respond if Washington used the episode to tighten technology export restrictions on China.

“China’s scientific progress relies on independent innovation and open cooperation,” Mao Ning said, according to an account of her remarks published by Bloomberg.

“The U.S. should stop fabricating the so-called Chinese spy narrative as a pretext for imposing technology restrictions,” she added. Official Chinese reports of the same comments used the phrase “technological blockade.”

Question Centers on Leaders’ Meeting

Mao said China had already made its position clear on the “so-called Chinese espionage narrative,” according to accounts published by China News and the Global Times.

“China and the U.S. remain in close communication regarding interactions between the two countries’ leaders,” she said. Beijing was ready to work with Washington to implement the “important consensus” reached by the two presidents and to advance a constructive relationship of “strategic stability based on respect, fairness and reciprocity.”

President Xi Jinping is expected to host President Donald Trump in Shenzhen next week on the sidelines of the APEC gathering, according to multiple reports. Mao did not confirm that timing, saying only that the two sides were in close contact on leaders’ interactions.

Spokesperson Declines Location Comment

A Bloomberg reporter then asked whether Alice Huang, also known as Huang Le, a Megaspeed executive at the center of the unproven spy allegations, is now in Beijing, and whether the ministry could confirm the report.

“I am not aware of the situation you mentioned,” Mao said, according to Beijing Daily and The Paper.

Bloomberg had earlier reported that she is living in the Chinese capital with the knowledge of security officials. That account, attributed to people familiar with the matter, could not be independently verified.

Beijing Has Rejected the Allegations

China’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed the spy claims for days. On Nov. 10, spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters the “Chinese spy” allegation was “purely unsubstantiated and directed at smearing China,” according to the ministry’s official English transcript.

The controversy has intensified after Jensen Huang acknowledged an extramarital affair and Nvidia’s board prepared to consider his removal, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.

U.S. officials have assessed that Alice Huang was recruited to gather information on the Nvidia chief, The New York Times has reported. The allegation remains unproven.