US Congressman Criticizes Biden Administration After Huawei Introduces New Laptop With Intel Chip

Republican Congressman Michael Gallagher, criticism of Joe Biden's government (photo: x @HouseIntel)

Members of the Republican US Congress criticized US President Joe Biden's administration on Friday, April 12, after Chinese telecommunications equipment giant Huawei, which has been sanctioned, introduced a laptop this week backed by Intel's artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

The United States put Huawei on a list of trade restrictions in 2019 for violating sanctions against Iran, as part of a broader effort to hinder Beijing's technological advances. Placement on the list means company suppliers must seek special licenses that are difficult to obtain before sending them goods.

One of the licenses, issued by the Donald Trump administration, has allowed Intel to send central processors to Huawei for use on laptops since 2020. The Chinese side has urged the Biden administration to revoke the license, but many are reluctant to accept that the license will expire this year and will not be renewed.

Huawei's revelation last Thursday about their first AI-backed laptop, the MateBook X Pro powered by Intel's new Core Ultra 9 processor, surprisingly and disturbing them, therefore it shows them that the Commerce Department has approved a new chip shipment to Huawei.

"One of the biggest mysteries in Washington DC is why the Commerce Department continues to allow US technology to be sent to Huawei," said Republican Congressman Michael Gallagher, who heads the House of Representatives' selection committee on China.

A source familiar with the matter said the chip was shipped with an existing license. They are not covered by recent restrictions on the shipment of AI chips to China, the source said.

The Commerce Department and Intel declined to comment. Huawei also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The reaction is a sign of increasing pressure on the Biden administration to make more effort to hinder Huawei's rise, nearly five years after being added to the trade restriction list.

In August, the company shocked the world with new phones powered by state-of-the-art chips manufactured by sanctions Chinese chipmaker SMIC, becoming a symbol of China's resurgence despite Washington's continued efforts to destroy its ability to produce advanced semiconductors.

In a Senate subcommittee hearing this week, Kevin Kurland, an export enforcement official, said Washington's restrictions on Huawei had "significant impacts" on its access to US technology. He also stressed that the goal was not to completely stop Huawei's growth but to prevent it from using US technology for "bad activity."

However, the comments slightly reduced frustration among Republican officials against China following news about Huawei's new laptop.

"This agreement must be discontinued," said Republican congressman Michael McCaul. "Two years ago, I was told that the license for Huawei would be terminated. Today, it looks like his policies have not changed."