Honestly I think espionage claims are overrated. Politicians made up a trade war that scientists and engineers never wanted in the first place.

I mean it’s complicated, and I wouldn’t say scientists and engineers get much credibility on foreign policy decisions, it’s not their domain

I'd say it is much more their domain than that of the politicians who have no idea how the technology being restricted is used or built.

> but espionage is a different matter

What evidence have you seen that espionage has taken place? I've seen people speculating about espionage, but very little evidence to back this up.

Look around these threads. There's a great deal of suspicion of espionage, and then there's the actual spy that compromised him (so, espionage -- a CEO of that importance falling for a honeypot is a big deal in and of itself).

Suspicion of espionage based on what evidence? Also the "spy" isn't confirmed to be a spy, and there are other explanations that are more plausible in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

The espionage allegations are against China though, not against him. He is the alleged victim.

Having your house unknowingly bugged by a spy makes you a victim. Having an affair with a spy, in what now appears to be a broader pattern of questionable ethical behavior, not so much.

If your lover gets recruited by a spy agency you are a victim of spying.

People frequently accept that their spouse has an affair as long as it's not in their face. Basically a tacit arrangement that is never talked about.

That matters I would think. A concern for a powerful person is whether knowledge of an affair could give someone else leverage. If you are keeping up appearances then that signals appearance (and secrets) have value.

Assuming the second affair claims are legit, he was also having an affair with a subordinate. That's a huge violation of many corporations' policies, for the average worker I'd expect its an immediate termination offense.

Yes, but at that level, and with less press attention, that sort of thing can be swept under a rug with enough $$$. Not defending it, just saying that it might not have been enough on its own. But cheating is definitely not very good since if you cheat on your spouse you might cheat on your employer.