China warns against new export controls on US chips after Nvidia scandal

China has cautioned the United States against introducing further export controls on semiconductors following the controversy surrounding AI chip leader Nvidia. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, Mao Ning, emphasized in a recent press briefing that such controls disrupt global industrial and supply chain stability and do not benefit any party.

China and the US should collaborate to uphold the consensus reached by their respective leaders and sustain the steady progress of China-US economic and trade ties, Mao added.

Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang, who recently stepped down, has confessed to an affair, reportedly with Alice Huang, a former executive at Singapore-based data centre firm Megaspeed. Reports suggest that questions have been raised within the US Commerce Department, led by Secretary Howard Lutnick, regarding whether Megaspeed facilitated the transfer of restricted Nvidia technology to China.

Some US lawmakers have expressed support for imposing additional export controls on chips destined for China in response to the mounting scandal. House Speaker Mike Johnson commented that there is a growing consensus in Congress favoring the limitation of such exports.

According to US intelligence, a memo circulated this spring alleged that Alice Huang — unrelated to Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang — was an asset of China's Ministry of State Security. Beijing dismissed these allegations and asserted that they are a pretext to impose a technological blockade aimed at hindering China's advancement in artificial intelligence technology.

The controversy unfolds in the lead-up to an anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shenzhen, China, during an APEC gathering.