By Alexandra Alper
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Republican hardliner Marco Rubio is calling on the Biden administration to block all sales to Huawei after the sanctioned Chinese technology company launched a new AI-enabled laptop equipped with a processor chip Intel AI.
The launch of Huawei’s first AI-enabled laptop, the MateBook X Pro powered by Intel’s new Core Ultra 9 processor, drew criticism from Republican lawmakers last week, who said it suggested the Commerce Department had given Intel the green light to sell the chip for Huawei.
If the Commerce Department authorized the shipment, “it would be unacceptable and a failure to enforce export controls against a blacklisted Chinese Communist Party (CCP) champion,” Rubio and Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik said in a letter to the secretary. of the Department of Commerce, Gina. Raymond.
“We ask that you reconsider this harmful stance and immediately revoke all export licenses for Huawei,” they added in the letter seen by Reuters.
The letter adds to growing pressure on the Biden administration to take more drastic measures to harm Huawei. Some of its businesses are seeing a bit of a resurgence, despite the company having long been in Washington’s crosshairs over national security concerns.
Huawei did not respond to a request for comment. Intel said it “strictly complies with all laws and regulations in the countries where we do business.” A Commerce Department spokesperson said the agency received the letter and will respond, but had no further comment.
The Chinese Embassy said it opposes the “exclusion of specific companies from specific countries” and the abuse of the concept of national security to suppress foreign companies without any conclusive proof.
The United States placed Huawei on a trade restricted list in 2019 amid fears it could spy on Americans, part of a broader effort to undermine China’s ability to build up its military. Being added to the list means the company’s suppliers will have to seek a special, hard-to-obtain license before shipping.
Still, Huawei’s suppliers have received billions of dollars in licenses to sell it goods and technology, including a particularly controversial authorization issued by the Trump administration that allowed Intel to send central processors to Huawei for use in its laptops since 2020. .
Critics argue that such licenses contributed to the company’s resurgence.
Huawei shocked the industry last August with a new phone equipped with a sophisticated chip made by Chinese chipmaker SMIC, despite US export restrictions on both companies. The phone helped Huawei’s smartphone sales increase 64% year-over-year in the first six weeks of 2024, according to research firm Counterpoint.
(Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
