HONG KONG, NOVEMBER 14: A controversy surrounding Nvidia’s former CEO Jensen Huang is adding fresh tensions to the growing technological rivalry between the United States and China, particularly over access to advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips, as US President Donald Trump prepares to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.
The controversy follows reports alleging that Huang had a relationship with a woman suspected by US officials of being a Chinese spy. The allegations have triggered renewed calls among American lawmakers for stricter controls on exports of advanced semiconductor technology to China.
At the centre of the dispute is Nvidia, whose advanced AI processors are considered crucial for developing and training powerful artificial intelligence systems.
Washington has imposed restrictions on the export of its most advanced AI chips to China, a policy initially introduced during the Biden administration. The restrictions have significantly affected Nvidia’s sales in the Chinese market, where the company once held an estimated 95 per cent market share.
Earlier this year, Trump approved the export of Nvidia’s H200 chips to China following lobbying by Huang. Although these processors are highly advanced, they are not the company’s most powerful chips.
However, the latest controversy has strengthened demands in Washington to reconsider the relaxation of export restrictions.
Several Democratic lawmakers have written to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, seeking clarification on what US officials knew about the reported relationship and demanding an immediate halt to exports of advanced AI chips to China.
Lawmakers from both political parties are also pushing for stronger legislative oversight of semiconductor exports. Proposed measures include allowing Congress to review export licences, monitoring the movement of AI chips to prevent unauthorised diversion and encouraging US allies to adopt similar restrictions.
Technology analysts say the controversy has brought national security concerns surrounding semiconductor exports and foreign influence into sharper focus.
China, meanwhile, has rejected the allegations and warned Washington against using the controversy as a justification for imposing additional technology restrictions.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the United States should stop making what Beijing described as unfounded Chinese espionage allegations to justify technology restrictions.
The woman identified in media reports as Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based cloud computing company Megaspeed, has been described by US officials as a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. Beijing has dismissed the allegations as unsubstantiated.
Despite the controversy, senior US officials have indicated that Trump does not intend to raise the Nvidia issue directly during his upcoming meeting with Xi Jinping.
The developments could also complicate discussions between the two countries on artificial intelligence safety. Both sides have previously expressed support for establishing a communication hotline to address AI-related national security incidents.
Experts believe the United States and China are following different approaches to developing artificial intelligence. American companies are focusing on advanced AI systems supported by powerful processors and expanding data-centre infrastructure, while Chinese firms are increasingly promoting affordable and open-source AI models.
China has also accelerated efforts to strengthen its domestic semiconductor industry, with companies such as Huawei developing alternatives to American processors. Chinese manufacturers are increasingly combining large numbers of less advanced domestic chips to improve computing capabilities.
However, Nvidia’s most advanced processors continue to hold an advantage in single-chip performance and remain important for training sophisticated AI models.
Analysts say further restrictions on Nvidia’s access to the Chinese market could accelerate Beijing’s efforts to develop an independent semiconductor supply chain, potentially reshaping the global AI industry.
The controversy has therefore added another sensitive dimension to the broader US-China technology competition, which is expected to remain a key issue in relations between the two countries.
