When a chief executive becomes a possible target of foreign intelligence, a company's internal review becomes a matter of geopolitics. That is the position Nvidia finds itself in this week. The chipmaking giant has said it is looking into reports by The New York Times that its chief executive, Jensen Huang, was the focus of an operation run by Chinese intelligence. The company has not, in the account available so far, confirmed the substance of the claims; it has said only that it is examining them.

The reason such reports carry weight lies in what Nvidia makes. Its processors power most of the world's advanced artificial-intelligence systems, and demand for them has pushed the firm's market value into the trillions of dollars. That position has made it central to a contest between Washington and Beijing. The United States has restricted sales of the most capable chips to China, arguing that they could strengthen Chinese military and surveillance systems.

China, for its part, is investing heavily in domestic alternatives and has long treated access to foreign technology as a strategic priority. Huang himself embodies the tension. Born in Taiwan and raised in the United States, he leads an American company whose customers, suppliers and manufacturing partners span Asia, Europe and North America. He has also travelled frequently to China, where he has argued that cutting off the market harms American firms and may speed Chinese self-reliance.