US Lawmakers Outraged as Huawei Unveils AI Laptop with Intel Chip

Republican lawmakers criticized the Biden administration as Huawei, under US sanctions, launched a laptop with Intel's latest AI chip, sparking renewed debate over technology exports to China.

Huawei's Launch of AI Laptop with Intel Chip Sparks Fury Over US Export Policies

In 2019, the United States placed Huawei on a trade restriction list for violating Iran sanctions as part of a larger effort to stifle Beijing's technological advancements, Reuters reported earlier.

Placement on the list requires the company's suppliers to obtain a specialized, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it.

Since 2020, Intel has been allowed to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops under a license issued by the Trump administration. China's hardliners had urged the Biden administration to revoke the license, but many reluctantly accepted that it would expire later this year and not be renewed.

Huawei's announcement on April 11 of its first AI-enabled laptop, the MateBook X Pro, powered by Intel's new Core Ultra 9 processor, shocked and enraged them because it implied that the Commerce Department had approved shipments of the new chip to Huawei.

"One of the greatest mysteries in Washington, DC, is why the Department of Commerce continues to allow US technology to be shipped to Huawei," Republican Congressman Michael Gallagher, who chairs the House of Representatives Select Committee on China.

Continued Huawei Chip Shipments Under Scrutiny Amid Calls for Tighter US Export Controls

According to a source the chips were shipped under an existing license. They are not subject to the recent broad restrictions on AI chip shipments to China, according to the source and another person.

The Commerce Department and Intel have declined to comment. Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The reaction reflects growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to thwart Huawei's rise, nearly five years after the company was added to a trade restriction list, per CNA.

Last August, it stunned the world with a new phone powered by a sophisticated chip manufactured by sanctioned Chinese chipmaker SMIC, which became a symbol of China's technological resurgence despite Washington's ongoing efforts to cripple its ability to produce advanced semiconductors.

At a Senate subcommittee hearing this week, an export enforcement official, Kevin Kurland, stated that Washington's restrictions on Huawei have had a "significant impact" on its access to US technology.

He also stated that the goal was not to prevent Huawei from expanding, but rather to prevent it from misusing US technology for "malign activities". However, the remarks did little to alleviate Republican China hawks' frustrations following the announcement of Huawei's new laptop.

"These approvals must stop," Republican congressman Michael McCaul said in a statement to Reuters. "Two years ago, I was told licenses to Huawei would stop. Today, it doesn't seem as though the policy has changed."

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