Did China's 'Beauty Stratagem' Find A New Victim In Jensen Huang?

Its 31st stratagem states that personal relationships can be used to influence political opponents and recommends exploiting an adversary's personal desires and emotional vulnerabilities to weaken their judgment and undermine their leadership.

The“Thirty-Six Stratagems” is both a playbook for warfare and a reflection on past experience. Indeed, one of China's most famous beauty stratagem stories dates back more than 2,000 years to the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history.

In the fifth century BCE, King Goujian of Yue, in modern-day southern China, was defeated by King Fuchai of Wu, its northern neighbor, and forced to submit. But Goujian secretly rebuilt his strength and prepared for revenge.

According to the ancient historical text“Wu Yue Chun Qiu,” Yue sent two beautiful women – Xi Shi and Zheng Dan – to Fuchai, hoping he would become distracted by pleasure and neglect state affairs.

The plan reportedly worked. Fuchai, seemingly enchanted by the beautiful women, gradually ignored Yue's threat. Meanwhile, Goujian prepared for war and in 473 BCE Yue conquered Wu.

Xi Shi's actual role in Wu's downfall remains unclear. Wu's defeat involved poor political decisions and Yue's military recovery.

Still, the story illustrated an important idea in Chinese political strategy: exploiting an opponent's personal weaknesses can sometimes be more effective than confronting him directly.

A similar tactic appears in the 14th-century novel“Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” considered one of the classics of Chinese literature.

It tells the story of Dong Zhuo, a powerful warlord who controlled the imperial court during the late Eastern Han Dynasty. To remove him, Wang Yun, a senior court official loyal to the Han Dynasty promised a beautiful young woman, named Diaochan, in marriage to Dong Zhuo's military commander. He then offered the same woman to Dong Zhuo.

The scheme fueled jealousy and distrust between the two men, eventually enabling Wang Yun to persuade Dong Zhuo's underling to kill him. Wang Yun then briefly took charge of the imperial court on behalf of the Han emperor.

In modern intelligence operations, using romantic or sexual relationships to approach targets, obtain sensitive information or exert influence is commonly called a“honey trap.” It is, moreover, certainly not unique to China. Western and Soviet intelligence agencies used intimate relationships for espionage frequently during the Cold War.

Modern China also has documented cases. One example involves French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and the Chinese opera performer Shi Pei Pu. The pair met in Beijing in 1964 and maintained a long-term intimate relationship.

Throughout, Boursicot was providing French diplomatic documents to China. The spying was eventually exposed and both involved were prosecuted for espionage in France in the 1980s.

A more recent example involves former US Rep. Eric Swalwell and Christine Fang, a suspected Chinese intelligence operative. Swalwell acknowledged in 2015 that he had been physically intimate with Fang on several occasions. At the time, Fang helped raise funds for Swalwell's campaign and helped place an intern in his congressional office.

Jensen Huang's position would make him a prime target for such a“honey trap” operation. His company has become central to the technological competition between the US and China.

As AI becomes increasingly important to economic development, military capabilities and national security, moreover, Washington has repeatedly tightened restrictions on advanced AI chip exports to China, hoping to slow its access to computing power.

Beijing is investing heavily in domestic semiconductor development. Yet Chinese companies still need advanced chips to train AI models and build data centers.