By Stephen Nellis
(Reuters) – U.S. export controls on sending advanced computer chips to China are not intended to hold back China’s economy or technological development, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with National Public Radio on Friday.
Since 2022, US officials have imposed sweeping controls on which computer chips can be exported to China, halting some sales from the likes of Nvidia (NASDAQ:), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:) and Intel (NASDAQ:). These checks followed previous bans on chip shipments to Huawei Technologies.
But US officials have granted licenses to at least two US companies – Intel and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:) – to continue shipping chips to Huawei, which is using an Intel chip to power a new laptop model. Two Republican lawmakers criticized the exemption for Intel earlier this week, but in the interview with NPR, Blinken highlighted the device as a sign that the U.S. was not trying to thwart China.
“I saw that Huawei just released a new laptop that it claimed was AI-enabled and uses an Intel chip,” Blinken told NPR host Steve Inskeep during a visit to Beijing. “I think this shows that what we are only focusing on is the most sensitive technology that could pose a threat to our security. We are not focused on cutting off trade, or containing or stopping China.”
Intel and Qualcomm’s licenses to sell to Huawei were granted during President Donald Trump’s administration and have remained in effect under President Joe Biden. Those companies’ direct competitors, AMD and MediaTek, have not received similar exemptions, and neither the Trump nor Biden administrations have explained why.
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(This story has been refiled to correct Antony Blinken’s name in paragraph 4)
