Donald Trump Calls for Resignation of New Intel Boss, Accused of Ties to Chinese Companies
Trump Calls for Intel CEO’s Resignation Amid China Ties Concerns
Donald Trump called on Thursday, August 7, for the “immediate” resignation of the new head of the American semiconductor and processor company Intel, a day after a Republican senator raised concerns about possible ties to Chinese companies, a danger, according to him, to national security.
“The CEO of Intel faces a serious conflict of interest and must resign immediately. There is no other solution to this problem,” the former US president blasted on his Truth Social platform, as Lip-Bu Tan took over as head of Intel in mid-March.
Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton sent a letter on Wednesday to the group’s chairman, Frank Yeary, to express his “concern” regarding possible links between Mr. Tan, who took office last March, and companies that “have ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army.” “Mr. Tan reportedly controls dozens of Chinese companies and holds shares in Chinese semiconductor and advanced industry companies,” Cotton accused in his letter, and “at least eight of these companies allegedly have ties to the Chinese military.”
The US senator also pointed out that Intel’s CEO’s former company, Cadence Design Systems, had “pleaded guilty to illegally selling” products “to the Chinese military university and transferring its technology to a Chinese company without obtaining a license.”
Malaysian-born American, Lip-Bu Tan, 65, began his career in nuclear energy before launching his own investment fund, specializing in digital technology, particularly in Asia. He took over as head of the microprocessors and semiconductors specialist last March, while the company, once a leader in the field, failed to make the shift to artificial intelligence (AI) in time, now lagging behind its competitors such as Nvidia. Intel finished 2024 with better-than-expected results, but prospects deemed too weak by the market.
Le Monde with AFP
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