PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has demanded that the new boss of US chip maker Intel resign “immediately,” after a Republican Senator raised national security concerns over his links to firms in China.

“The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately. There is no other solution to this problem,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, a day after Senator Tom Cotton said he had written to Intel questioning ties between CEO Lip-Bu Tan and Chinese firms.

Tan “reportedly controls dozens of Chinese companies and has a stake in hundreds of Chinese advanced-manufacturing and chip firms. At least eight of these companies reportedly have ties to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army,” Cotton wrote in his letter, a copy of which he posted on his website.

Cotton also noted Tan’s role as the previous head of Cadence Design Systems, which he said recently “pleaded guilty to illegally selling its products to a Chinese military university and transferring its technology to an associated Chinese semiconductor company without obtaining licenses.”

Tan was head of the company at that time, Cotton said.

In a statement, Tan said there has been “a lot of misinformation circulating” about his past roles at Walden International and Cadence Design Systems.

“I want to be absolutely clear: Over 40+ years in the industry, I’ve built relationships around the world and across our diverse ecosystem,” Tan said.

“And I have always operated within the highest legal and ethical standards.”

He stressed that the United States has been his home for over 40 years and that he is “profoundly grateful for the opportunities it has given me.”

He added that he fully shares Trump’s commitment to “advancing US national and economic security” and is proud to lead a company “so central to these goals.”

The Malaysia-born tech industry veteran took the helm at struggling Intel in March, announcing layoffs as White House tariffs and export restrictions muddied the market.

He has said it “won’t be easy” to overcome challenges faced by the company.

Intel is one of Silicon Valley’s most iconic companies, but its fortunes have been dwarfed by Asian powerhouses TSMC and Samsung, which dominate the made-to-order semiconductor business.

The company was also caught by surprise with the emergence of Nvidia as the world’s preeminent AI chip provider.

Intel’s niche has been in chips used in traditional computing processes, steadily being eclipsed by the AI revolution.

- © AFP 2025