By Alicia Diaz, Bloomberg
A top Republican senator asked the chairman of Intel Corp.’s board to answer questions about Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan’s ties to China, including investments in the country’s semiconductor companies and others with connections to the country’s military.
In a letter to Frank Yeary, who oversees the chipmaker’s board of directors, Senator Tom Cotton asked about investments Tan made in China before he was picked to run Intel. Cotton noted specific concerns about Tan’s ties to Cadence Design Systems Inc., a tech company he led for over a decade which sold products to a Chinese military university. The company pleaded guilty in July to violating US export controls by selling hardware and software to China’s National University of Defense Technology.
“Intel is required to be a responsible steward of American taxpayer dollars and to comply with applicable security regulations,” wrote Cotton, who is chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence. Tan’s associations “raise questions about Intel’s ability to fulfill these obligations,” Cotton said.
Intel is one of the cornerstones of Washington’s efforts to rebuild the domestic semiconductor industry. The company was awarded almost $8 billion from the Chips and Science Act for US investments, including a facility to supply the US military.
“Intel and Mr. Tan are deeply committed to the national security of the United States and the integrity of our role in the U.S. defense ecosystem,” the company said in a statement. Intel said it would address the matters in the letter with the senator.
Cracking down on economic ties to China is one of the few bipartisan issues in today’s deeply divided political environment. Cotton’s letter signals the Republican-led government could continue to press US companies on their connections to Beijing.
Republican lawmakers scrutinized the White House’s decision to allow Nvidia Corp. to resume shipments of its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China, alleging it threatens US national security.
–With assistance from Ian King.
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