China's workarounds for the U.S. Nvidia chip ban

The revelation that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang had an affair with a former executive of a Singapore-based company has raised concerns about China's ability to acquire top-tier microchips restricted to the country. The scandal has put the effectiveness of U.S. export controls on advanced chips under scrutiny. Huang admitted to the affair with Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman and controlling shareholder of Megaspeed International, which U.S. authorities suspect helped Chinese companies obtain restricted Nvidia chips. China's Foreign Ministry has called the accusations of her being a Chinese intelligence asset "groundless." China seeks these chips for AI development, while the U.S. blocks sales to maintain its lead and protect national security. Despite restrictions, China acquires chips through smuggling networks and legal loopholes, such as renting computing power from third-party data centres in other countries.