The image is from thechorus image on thecdn.vox-cdn.com.
China is Intel's largest revenue source.
Credit is given to Costfoto/Future Publishing via a photo.
Intel apologized to partners and customers in China after telling local suppliers it would not use labor from the country's Xinjiang region. The statement that caused the backlash has been deleted.
The US is one of the governments that restricts international trade with the Uyghur population. The US banned imports of goods from Xinjiang if they could prove that they were created without the use of forced labor. The Uyghurs are a minority in the region, and the US government says they are being mistreated.
In its annual letter to suppliers, Intel said it was required to follow restrictions on trade imposed by multiple governments and that it would not use labor or source goods from the Xinjiang region. The portion of the letter that was removed from Intel's website can be found in an archive.
The Chinese media said that Intel was biting the hand that feeds it.
The normally-procedural note caused a backlash in China. Karry Wang, a former Intel ambassador, went on social media to cut ties with the firm, saying that national interest exceeds everything.
The Chinese market is responsible for 25% of Intel's global revenue. More than 10,000 people are employed by the company in China. A New York Times investigation in 2020 found that the Chinese government was using Intel chips to power their supercomputers.
Intel apologized on Chinese social media sites. In a letter addressed to the Chinese public and local partners, Intel said it was limiting trade with Xinjiang only as a legal formality and not a political statement. The letter apologized for the trouble caused to Chinese customers, partners and the public. The original intention of compliance and legality is what the paragraph about Xinjiang is about.
The White House press secretary said that American companies should never apologize for standing up for human rights or opposing oppression. Psaki said that the private sector and the international community should oppose the PRC's weaponizing of its markets to stifle support for human rights.
The US and Chinese governments are squeezing US tech firms on both sides. Many US companies comply with Chinese orders in order to retain business in the country. Apple storing user data on server run by Chinese state-owned firms is one of the more significant examples. The Intel apology for following US law will not be the last example of hypocritical behavior.
