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Conflict · Hybrid & cyber · Impact 2 Notable

Two Chinese nationals jailed in US for spying

· ≈ Washington, United States of America · single source so far

Liren Lai and Yuance Chen admitted to facilitating 'dead drop' cash payments worth at least $30,000 to people in the US, and have been jailed for spying.

Location
≈ Washington, United States of America · United States of America live map
Coordinates
≈ 38.90°N 77.04°W
Reported
31 Oct 2026, 04:41 UTC
Category
Conflict · Hybrid & cyber
Impact
2 of 5 · Notable
Situation
US–China tech rivalry
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US–China tech rivalry right now

■ Steady

Two Chinese nationals jailed in US for spying as Nvidia espionage report draws denial

Two Chinese nationals, Liren Lai and Yuance Chen, were jailed in the US after admitting to facilitating 'dead drop' cash payments worth at least $30,000 to people in the US. On Thursday, China denied a New York Times report that a Chinese businesswoman gathered information on Nvidia for Beijing. The US and Japan also announced a Japanese facility for joint missile production.

  • The New York Times, citing US intelligence officials, says Alice Huang of Singapore-based Megaspeed targeted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and was believed to be acting for the Chinese government.
  • China denies the allegations.
  • The report says she was previously suspected of smuggling Nvidia chips to China and was under US surveillance.
  • The US-Japan missile facility follows repeated alarm from both allies over China's growing assertiveness in Asia.
Updated 31 Oct 2026, 05:18 UTC · Written by Claude from the reports on this page and on the map. Check the linked sources for full details.

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