Intel CEO Tan Lip-Bu to visit White House on Aug 11, WSJ reports

WASHINGTON - Intel chief executive Tan Lip-Bu was set to visit the White House on Aug 11 after US President

Donald Trump called for his remova

l last week, The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug 10, citing people familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Intel and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mr Tan was expected to have an extensive conversation with Mr Trump while looking to explain his personal and professional background, the report said, adding that he could propose ways Intel and the US government could work together, the report added.

Mr Tan hopes to win Mr Trump’s approval by showing his commitment to the US and guaranteeing the importance of keeping Intel’s manufacturing capabilities as a national security issue, the report added.

Last week, Mr Trump demanded the immediate resignation of Mr Tan, calling him “highly conflicted”

due to his ties to Chinese firms

and raising doubts about plans to turn around the struggling American chip icon. Mr Tan said he shared the President’s commitment to advancing US national and economic security.

Mr Trump’s intervention marked a rare instance of a US president publicly calling for a CEO’s ouster, and sparked debate among investors.

Reuters reported in April that Mr Tan invested at least US$200 million (S$257 million) in hundreds of Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms, some of which were linked to the Chinese military.

Mr Tan, a Malaysian-born Chinese American business executive, was also the CEO of Cadence Design from 2008 through December 2021, during which the chip design software maker sold products to a Chinese military university believed to be involved in simulating nuclear explosions.

Cadence agreed to plead guilty in July and pay more than US$140 million to resolve the US charges over the sales, which Reuters first reported. REUTERS