U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 11th (local time) that he conducted a meeting with Intel's CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who is under suspicion of close ties with China. Trump mentioned on the social media platform he founded, Truth Social, that "I had a very interesting meeting today with Intel's Lip-Bu Tan, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent," adding, "His success and rise is an amazing story." He continued, "CEO Tan and cabinet members will spend time together, and they will bring me proposals next week."
This meeting follows Trump's demand for Tan's resignation, with Intel's stock rising by 3% in after-hours transactions. Previously, Intel's stock had dropped 3.1% in relation to the demand for Tan's resignation.
CEO Tan is under suspicion of associations with the Chinese Communist Party and military. Earlier, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton, a member of the Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to the Intel board claiming that CEO Tan was collaborating with corporations closely associated with China. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that on the 28th of last month, Cadence Design Systems, where Tan was CEO from 2015 to 2021, was fined for illegally exporting semiconductor design software and hardware to companies representing the National University of Defense Technology in China.
CEO Tan is reported to have invested at least $200 million in advanced manufacturing and semiconductor companies in China from March 2012 to the end of last year, facing significant criticism for this. On the 7th, Trump posted on Truth Social, stating that "There is no other solution to this issue," demanding the immediate resignation of CEO Tan. However, through the meeting that day, Trump's attitude appeared to have softened, and CEO Tan seems to have succeeded in clarification and persuasion.
Trump mentioned that CEO Tan would bring a "proposal," raising the possibility that Intel might announce significant investments or cooperation with the Trump administration. Intel stated in a press release that CEO Tan met with President Trump to discuss the company's commitment to strengthening its technology and manufacturing leadership and said it would work closely with the Trump administration for reconstruction.
CEO Tan, a Malaysian-born Chinese American, was appointed as CEO of Intel in March and has begun restructuring efforts to resolve Intel's management challenges, though he continues to face difficulties. In particular, he has found himself in a difficult situation due to the emergence of China-related suspicions, with Trump demanding his resignation.
Reuters reported that it is rare for Trump to publicly demand a CEO's resignation, raising questions about control over corporate management. In the U.S. semiconductor industry, Nvidia and AMD agreed to pay 15% of their sales in China to the U.S. government in exchange for export permits to the Chinese market, which exemplifies this trend. Such agreements can be interpreted as movements to strengthen the Trump administration's control over corporations.