Trump meets Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan days after calling for his resignation

US President Donald Trump meets Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan days after calling for his resignation over alleged China links amid US chip industry scrutiny

US President Donald Trump met with Intel Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan on Monday (local time), just days after publicly demanding his resignation over alleged conflicts of interest. The meeting, also attended by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, comes amid intensifying US scrutiny of semiconductor industry ties to China.

 

“The meeting was a very interesting one. His success and rise is an amazing story,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. The US President said Tan would be meeting Cabinet members and “bring suggestions to me during the next week”.

 

Trump flip-flops on Intel CEO

The shift in tone marks a sharp reversal from last week, when Trump wrote that Tan was “highly conflicted” and “must resign immediately”, citing concerns over his business links to China.

 

 

The criticism followed a letter from Republican Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas to Intel’s board questioning whether the CEO had divested from Chinese chipmakers and other entities with ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army.

 

Lip-Bu Tan appointment and AI chip race

Lip-Bu Tan, 65, took over Intel in March after serving on its board since 2022. His appointment came as the company struggled to catch up with Nvidia in the artificial intelligence (AI) chip market and managed heavy losses from its chip foundry expansion.

 

Prior to Intel, Tan led Cadence Design Systems, which recently agreed to pay over $213 million in criminal and civil penalties for export control violations involving technology sold to a Chinese military university during his tenure. 

Crackdown on semiconductor exports

Trump’s administration has taken an aggressive stance on the semiconductor sector as part of its technology rivalry with China. Over the weekend, Nvidia agreed to pay the US government a 15 per cent cut on sales of its H20 chip to China in exchange for export licenses, after initially being pressed for 20 per cent, according to a report by Reuters. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met Trump at the White House on Friday to finalise the arrangement. 

Trump also announced a 90-day extension on the suspension of tariffs on China while trade negotiations continue. “All other elements of the Agreement will remain the same,” he said.

 

Intel layoffs

For Intel, the controversy adds to operational setbacks. Tan has announced layoffs, cuts to the foundry business, and the cancellation of planned manufacturing sites in Germany and Poland, along with delays to an Ohio facility. “Turning the company around will take time and require patience. We have a lot to fix in order to move the company forward,” Tan told analysts in July, according to a report by CNBC.  Intel shares rose 2 per cent in extended trading following news of the talks.