Biden administration has challenged Intel’s plan to increase the chip production in China according to a report from Bloomberg. According to the reports Intel proposed making silicon wafers in a Chengdu, China factory, which could start production towards the end of 2022. However, Intel’s plans were strongly discouraged by White House officials due to potential security issues.
Since Intel needs to secure funding from the government in order to ramp up production, the administration’s opinion holds some weight on Intel’s path forward. Intel said it currently has no plans to produce silicon wafers in China after discussing it with government officials, and that it will instead consider other solutions.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Intel said: “Intel and the Biden administration share a goal to address the ongoing industrywide shortage of microchips, and we have explored a number of approaches with the U.S. government. One of these approaches may be to invest in factories to manufacture silicon wafers in the US and Europe, in line with the administration’s goals of manufacturing essential components within the US.”
The Biden administration remains skeptical about China’s use of technology. Biden recently expanded on existing policies from the Trump era that places restrictions on the government’s use of China-based brands Huawei and ZTE, as well as labels both companies as threats to national security.
Biden’s newly-signed legislation blocks the two brands from obtaining licenses from the Federal Communications Commission.
