China has pushed back against reports linking Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s alleged affair to a suspected Chinese espionage operation, accusing American media of manufacturing a spy story. The denial comes as US lawmakers seek answers from Huang and Donald Trump prepares for talks with Xi Jinping.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s personal life has become an unlikely point of friction between the US and China, with Chinese state media now accusing American journalists of turning an alleged extramarital affair into a story about espionage.
The Global Times, a nationalist Chinese newspaper, has rejected suggestions that Beijing was involved in Huang’s relationship with a woman identified in media reports as a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. It has also singled out The New York Times for its coverage, accusing American publications of building a narrative around speculation rather than established evidence.
The dispute comes at a sensitive moment for US-China relations. Huang has previously defended Nvidia’s business interests in China, while the US has sought to limit Chinese access to advanced its semiconductor technology. With US lawmakers now seeking answers and Nvidia’s board initiating an internal review, the controversy threatens to complicate an already strained relationship between the two countries.
China pushes back against espionage allegations
In its commentary, the Global Times argued that American coverage had relied heavily on circumstantial details, including photographs of people of Asian appearance and Nvidia’s attempts to persuade Washington to ease restrictions on semiconductor exports to China.
The newspaper suggested that such reporting was part of a wider effort to portray China as a threat whenever diplomatic relations between the two countries showed signs of improvement. It also warned that portraying the episode as a Chinese espionage operation could undermine legitimate business and technology exchanges.
More from TechThe publication offered no evidence of a coordinated effort to damage bilateral relations. Instead, it drew a comparison with the 2023 Chinese balloon incident, which triggered a diplomatic confrontation between Washington and Beijing.
At the time, China maintained that the balloon was a civilian airship used primarily for meteorological research and had drifted off course because of weather conditions. The US, however, considered it a surveillance device and shot it down over the sea.
Chinese official position on the latest allegations has been similarly dismissive. On October 30, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun described a New York Times report about an alleged attempt to target Huang through an espionage operation as unsubstantiated, calling it an effort to discredit China.
The accusations have not, however, prevented scrutiny from intensifying in the US.
Nvidia board launches review as lawmakers seek answers
Last week, senior Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives sought a briefing from Huang about his interactions with Alice Huang, also identified as Huang Le, the woman at the centre of the reports.
The Nvidia chief has acknowledged having an affair. However, the allegations that the woman was recruited by Beijing to influence him remain unproven.
According to The New York Times, US intelligence officials suspect that Alice Huang may have been approached by Chinese authorities to establish influence over the billionaire executive and potentially obtain sensitive information about Nvidia’s commercial strategy and his lobbying efforts in Washington. The newspaper reported that intelligence agencies had monitored her for at least a year.
Nvidia has also begun examining the matter. In a statement on Sunday, the company said its board was forming a committee comprising independent directors, which would work alongside external legal advisers to investigate the allegations. Huang has said he will co-operate fully with the process.
The controversy has also revived interest in comments Huang made during a Bloomberg interview less than a month before the reports emerged. In that conversation, he defended Nvidia’s continued engagement with China, arguing that restricting the country’s access to American technology could ultimately hurt the US semiconductor industry.
His position reflects Nvidia’s interest in retaining access to China, one of the world’s largest technology markets, despite increasingly restrictive export rules imposed by Washington.
The timing of the controversy could prove particularly awkward. US President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to China next week for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen, where he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for the third time this year.
The talks are expected to test whether the two leaders can maintain a fragile trade truce. Against that backdrop, the allegations surrounding one of America’s most influential technology executives have acquired significance beyond his personal life. Whether the investigation establishes any connection to Beijing remains an open question.
