China abuzz over Jensen Huang spy and affair scandal

Nov 10, 2026, 09:17 am

China has been swept up in controversy following reports that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, also known as Huang Renxun in Chinese, had an extramarital affair with Alice Huang, or Huang Le, a Chinese businesswoman suspected by U.S. intelligence authorities of having been recruited as a spy by a Chinese intelligence agency.

The reports have caused an extraordinary stir across the country, with public reaction reaching a fever pitch.

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A Chinese media report on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's extramarital affair. /Screenshot from Baidu

Online platforms, particularly social media, have been buzzing with discussion.

On WeChat, China's popular messaging and social media platform, roughly 100 million users are reportedly circulating or sharing news related to the controversy.

Meanwhile, search terms related to Huang have reportedly dominated all 10 of the top trending searches on Baidu, China's leading Chinese-language search engine.

Chen Hao, a Beijing resident in his 30s, expressed astonishment at the scale of the public reaction.

"We have hardly seen anything like this all year. That shows just how big a story Huang's affair has become," he said.

Chinese state-run media, including the People's Daily, have also been reacting intensely to the controversy.

Reports about Huang's acknowledgment of his extramarital affair and other developments have been appearing almost continuously across Chinese news outlets.

Their message has been largely consistent.

Many Chinese media reports argue that international news organizations have rushed to publish claims originating from U.S. intelligence authorities without independently verifying them.

Some have gone further, suggesting that the global media are collectively amplifying what they describe as an American conspiracy narrative.

The Chinese government has taken a similar position.

At a regular press briefing on Nov. 9, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun dismissed reports that Huang's alleged affair partner was a Chinese spy.

"The 'Chinese spy' allegation is purely unsubstantiated and directed at smearing China," Guo said, effectively rejecting the allegations originating from U.S. intelligence sources.

Guo also used the Chinese idiom bu feng zhuo ying (捕風捉影), literally meaning "catching the wind and grasping at shadows," to emphasize that the espionage allegations lacked substance.

When asked whether China denied reports that the woman worked for a Chinese intelligence agency, he repeated the same response.

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Alice Huang and Jensen Huang with his wife, according to the image caption provided by Baidu. /Baidu

According to Beijing-based diplomatic sources speaking on Nov. 9, Alice Huang previously held an executive position at Megaspeed, a Singapore-based data center company.

U.S. intelligence authorities, however, reportedly began to suspect her activities well before the controversy became public.

They are said to have monitored her over suspicions that she deliberately approached Huang to obtain confidential information about advanced artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors and developments within the U.S. administration.

According to various international media reports, Alice Huang previously worked as a journalist for China's state broadcaster, China Central Television (CCTV), and as an executive at a global financial institution.

She reportedly went on to work in the investment industry before joining Megaspeed.

Although U.S. authorities now suspect that she was recruited by a Chinese intelligence agency, whether she actually engaged in espionage remains unclear.

Hong Soon-do

#Jensen Huang #Nvidia #China #Espionage