In China, the spying accusation is seen as a move in the AI battle

The incident has given new energy to US politicians who want to make it difficult for China to gain access to the most advanced semiconductors. This despite the fact that China has clearly denied the so-called "Chinese spy accusation" - and despite the fact that no evidence has been presented to support it.

That is the image conveyed by the state-controlled and nationalist media platform Global Times.

Chinese commentators are now closely following developments in the US Congress. They note that Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana made a joint move calling for tougher measures to prevent China from obtaining the most advanced chips needed to develop AI.

- Whether Huang's personal relationship included any intelligence or resulted in a leak of sensitive technology remains under investigation, but politicians from both US parties have already linked the incident to a call for tougher export restrictions on China, Chen Hong, of East China Normal University, told the Global Times.

Alice Huang, whose Chinese name is Huang Le, is suspected of being a Chinese spy who is accused of using her relationship with Nvidia's CEO to, through her own company Megaspeed in Singapore, smuggle the American company's top AI chip to China.

Her relationship with Jensen Huang has indirectly meant that Nvidia chips worth more than the equivalent of SEK 80 billion ended up with Chinese companies, according to The Information, an American publication specializing in IT news, as cited by the Reuters news agency.

- The key here is not what an investigation comes to. The process itself could lead to a new anti-Chinese wave. The hawks in the US Congress will seize the opportunity to increase export controls, said Zhu Feng, of Nanjing University, to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post.

Other experts in Chinese media point to how the incident, regardless of what the investigation leads to, will affect the relationship between China and the United States.

Jensen Huang has close ties to US President Donald Trump, and has long campaigned against tighter controls on exports to China of AI chips.

On two occasions earlier this year, he was part of the American delegation when Donald Trump met China's leader Xi Jinping. It is unclear how that will play out next week when Trump and Xi are expected to meet again on the sidelines of the Apec summit in Shenzhen in southern China.