Republican lawmakers in the United States criticized the Biden administration on April 12 after Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, which is subject to US sanctions, unveiled a new laptop this week powered by an artificial intelligence chip from Intel.
The United States placed Huawei on a trade restrictions list in 2019 due to violations related to Iran sanctions, as part of broader efforts to undermine Beijing’s technological advancement.
Being on the list means American suppliers to the company must request a difficult-to-obtain special license before shipping to it.
One of these licenses, issued by the Trump administration, allowed Intel to ship central processing units to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. Hardliners towards China had urged the Biden administration to revoke this license, but many accepted that the license would expire later this year and not be renewed.
Huawei unveiled on April 11 its first laptop featuring artificial intelligence, the MateBook X Pro, powered by the new Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, causing shock and anger to many, as it implied that the US Department of Commerce had approved shipments of the new chips to Huawei.
“One of the biggest puzzles in Washington is what drives the US Department of Commerce to continue to allow the export of US technology to Huawei,” said Michael Gallagher, a Republican member of Congress and chairman of the Select Committee on China, in a statement to Reuters.
Republican Representative Elise Stefanik stated in a post on X’s social media platform that the laptop “clearly indicates” that the Department of Commerce gave the green light to shipments to Huawei for the new chip.
“It is unacceptable for the Biden administration to actively undermine US national security by allowing our greatest strategic competitor access to advanced American technology,” said Ms. Stefanik.
The Commerce Department declined to comment. Neither Huawei nor Intel immediately responded to requests for comment.
Republican Representative Michael McCaul echoed Ms. Stefanik’s comments in an email statement sent to Reuters. He said, “These approvals must stop,” and added, “Two years ago, I was told licenses for Huawei would stop. Today, it seems the policy has not changed.”
A source familiar with the matter said chip shipments were made under an existing license. These chips do not fall under the broad new restrictions recently announced on shipments of AI chips to China, according to the source and another person.
The response signifies increasing pressure on the Biden administration to take further action to prevent Huawei’s rise, after nearly five years since it was added to the trade restrictions list.
In August, the world was amazed by a new phone powered by a sophisticated chip produced by the banned Chinese chip manufacturer, SMIC, becoming a symbol of China’s technological rise despite ongoing efforts by Washington to limit its ability to produce advanced semiconductors. Reuters.
