Would a White CEO Have Been Ousted? Chinese Commentators Claim Jensen Huang Fell Because of His Heritage

BEIJING — Prominent voices in China and Hong Kong are arguing that Jensen Huang lost his job as Nvidia's chief executive not because of his extramarital affair but because of his ethnic Chinese heritage. Critics in the United States reject that argument, saying Huang's conduct alone would have ended most executives' careers.

Huang, who was born in Taiwan and moved to the United States as a child, resigned Thursday after 33 years leading the chipmaker he co-founded. His departure followed his admission that he had been unfaithful to his wife and reports linking him to Alice Huang, a Chinese businesswoman whom U.S. officials suspect of ties to Chinese intelligence. The two are not related.

'A tragedy of Chinese Americans'

Leading the argument is Hu Xijin, the outspoken former editor-in-chief of China's state-run Global Times newspaper.

"Jensen Huang has made such enormous contributions to the United States, yet he has been forced out through collusion between intelligence agencies and the media," Hu wrote on X on Nov. 12. "This is his personal tragedy, and also a tragedy of Chinese Americans not being trusted in the United States."

In a follow-up post on Friday, Hu said Huang's fall should serve as a warning to all ethnic Chinese elites in the United States, according to South Korean media.

He compared Huang with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, arguing that Musk has been heavily involved in politics and has faced questions about his personal life without consequences, while Huang collapsed almost immediately after his affair became public. Hu argued that American society was deeply uncomfortable with an ethnic Chinese executive controlling the world's most important chip company and shaping the direction of artificial intelligence.

Hu also dismissed the espionage allegations. He noted that many people believe President Donald Trump is compromised by Russia, without that leading to his removal.

Earlier in the week, Hu described Huang as a political scapegoat. "Jensen Huang has been singled out and targeted — a political sacrificial lamb in the bitter infighting between America's two major parties," he said. "It is entirely an American stunt, having absolutely nothing to do with China."

Hong Kong outlet joins in

Hong Kong news outlet HK01 made a similar argument, according to South Korean media. It said that even a Taiwanese American elite with U.S. citizenship could not escape what it called the "original sin" of being ethnic Chinese.

The outlet argued that many Silicon Valley leaders have kept their jobs despite personal scandals, but that in Huang's case it became a fatal offence because Nvidia had become so successful and its leader was ethnic Chinese. It suggested U.S. national security officials could not accept a Taiwanese American "semiconductor emperor" holding such sway over American and global AI.

The propaganda department of the Chinese Communist Party's Zhejiang provincial committee also weighed in. It linked the controversy to American anxiety over AI and suggested that Huang's appearance made the spy allegations easier to use against him.

State media and Beijing's response

The Global Times has also raised the possibility that Huang's heritage contributed to the suspicion against him. Newsweek noted that the paper offered no evidence that his ethnicity influenced investigators.

China's Foreign Ministry has denied that Alice Huang is a spy and said those looking for links to espionage were "chasing shadows." The U.S. Justice Department has said it has reached no conclusion on whether she worked for the Chinese government.

Chinese social media users have also mourned Huang's exit. Some described his departure as the loss of Nvidia's "soul." Huang has a strong following in China, where he is known for speaking Mandarin and making frequent visits.

Pushback from U.S. critics

The argument has drawn sharp responses.

Replying to Hu's post on X, Dennis Wilder, a former U.S. intelligence official and China analyst, rejected the claim. "Because you are from the PRC you may not understand," Wilder wrote. "In America, companies have strict rules against employers sleeping with their employees. Many White non-Chinese managers have lost their jobs this way. Need a list?"

Critics say the comparison with other executives ignores the full set of allegations against Huang. Beyond the affair with Alice Huang, reports have emerged of relationships with two Nvidia employees. Reuters also reported Friday that Huang had misled Nvidia's general counsel and other executives, describing his ties to Alice Huang as routine business dealings with a customer. Huang has not publicly confirmed those reports.

Several U.S. chief executives have lost their jobs in recent years over undisclosed relationships with employees or breaches of company conduct policies, regardless of ethnicity.

Concerns about stereotypes in U.S. coverage

At the same time, some Asian American groups in the United States have raised concerns about how the scandal is covered.

The Asian American Journalists Association criticized The Economist and the New York Post for headline wordplay it said risked "perpetuating racial stereotypes or casting entire communities under suspicion."

The group also warned against conflating Asian Americans with Chinese nationals, saying "a person's background or national origin should never be used to presume loyalties."

Some commentators have argued that Huang should face scrutiny for his conduct, but not a presumption of disloyalty because of his heritage or because he was allegedly targeted by Chinese intelligence.

Investigations continue

Nvidia's board has hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to investigate Huang's conduct and related national security concerns. The FBI is examining Alice Huang's alleged links to Chinese intelligence, and lawmakers are scrutinizing whether Nvidia chips reached China despite export controls.

Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress is serving as interim chief executive. Nvidia reports quarterly results on Tuesday.

The debate over Huang's heritage reflects the wider tensions between Washington and Beijing over AI and semiconductors, a rivalry in which Nvidia sits at the center.