Well before reports emerged that former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was having an affair with a suspected Chinese spy, the advanced chips made by his company were at the center of the race between the U.S. and China to dominate artificial intelligence.

The scandal now threatens to intensify that rivalry.

As President Donald Trump prepares to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in China, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Congress are seizing on the affair to press for tighter restrictions on technology exports to protect America's edge.