Intel executive emphasises importance of Chinese market in areas such as 5G and EVs: local media report

Intel still sees China as a great market for its chips, especially in emerging sectors such as 5G and electric vehicles, according to an executive at the company’s research institute in the country, as the semiconductor giant seeks to shore up local confidence amid sweeping US sanctions.

“For Intel, the laptop, desktop and server products areas are quite important, and [we] need to seize the opportunity of recovery in the Chinese market,” Song Jiqiang, director of Intel Labs China, said in a recent interview with Chinese tech media outlet Shenwang, which is operated by tech giant Tencent Holdings.

He added that China is now leading the world in a number of emerging fields, including 5G and electric vehicles, which all open new opportunities for Intel.

Song, who joined Intel in 2008 and has led the Chinese research team on various projects including RISC-V and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, praised China’s national data centre strategy. Under this plan, Eastern Data and Western Computing will gather data from the more prosperous cities along China’s eastern seaboard and send it to poorer, more spacious urban centres in the west for processing and storage.

“Such a large-scale national strategy cannot be found anywhere in the world … it is a big opportunity that combines [the need for] computing, networks and storage,” he was quoted by Shenwang as saying.

He added that China’s fast-developing electric vehicle industry, including in-car entertainment systems and autonomous driving, are all new market opportunities. “All these opportunities I have mentioned cannot be replicated in other countries,” he said.