US chip CEOs in last-ditch bid to convince Biden to drop new curbs on China equipment sales
- Bosses of top semiconductor firms head to Washington to persuade Biden that an escalation would hurt the current diplomatic efforts by him to engage Chinese officials
- They have argued that being cut off from their largest market will harm their ability to spend on advancing their technology
America’s largest semiconductor companies are embarking on a last-ditch effort to head off new curbs on their sales to China, with senior executives travelling to Washington next week for talks with administration officials and lawmakers.
The chief executive officers of Intel Corp., Qualcomm Inc. and Nvidia Corp. are planning to lobby against extending restrictions on the sale to China of certain chips and the equipment to manufacture the semiconductors that the Biden administration is set to roll out in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said.
While they don’t expect to stave off all the actions, the companies are sensing a window of opportunity to convince the Biden team that an escalation would hurt the current diplomatic efforts by the White House to engage Chinese officials and establish a more productive relationship, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the trip isn’t yet public.
Chip companies are at the centre of what has been an escalating row between Beijing and Washington. The US, where most of the technology originates, believes that restricting China’s access to it will bolster national security and hold back the Asian nation’s efforts to advance its military capabilities.
The companies have argued that being cut off from their largest market will harm their ability to spend on advancing their technology and ultimately undermine US leadership.
Representatives for the three companies declined to comment.
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon gets more than 60 per cent of his company’s revenue from the China region by supplying components to smartphone makers such as Xiaomi Corp.
Intel’s Pat Gelsinger, who visited Beijing earlier this month to show off his company’s latest artificial intelligence chips, counts the nation as his biggest sales region. The country provides about a quarter of Intel’s sales. And for Nvidia, run by co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, China provides about a fifth of revenue.