Nvidia scandal highlights China's expanding espionage in Asia-Pacific

The Nvidia scandal involving former CEO Jensen Huang's affair with a suspected Chinese spy has intensified global concerns about Beijing's efforts to steal commercial and technological secrets and gather intelligence on foreign leaders and military plans. Security agencies worldwide have raised alarms, with the FBI calling Chinese espionage a grave threat to US economic well-being, while Britain's MI5 reported seven times more China-related investigations in 2022 than four years earlier. China has dismissed the allegations as fabricated "spy narratives" to justify technology export restrictions. Beijing's espionage push is expanding in its backyard, with suspected operations in the Philippines monitoring naval bases and recruiting defence officials. China's Ministry of State Security has become more aggressive under President Xi Jinping, with AI now being used to profile executives and automate cyberattacks against hundreds of organisations globally.