Sen. Cotton Questions Intel on New CEO’s China Ties

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Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has written to Intel seeking information about the company’s new CEO, raising questions about CEO Tan Lip-Bu’s investments in Chinese firms with links to the People’s Liberation Army, the military wing of the Chinese Communist Party.

The tech giant has recently received billions in federal funding, including from a U.S. national security program.

It sounded the alarm over Tan’s past tenure as CEO of Cadence Design Systems, a firm that specializes in hardware and software for advanced microchips and other semiconductor products.

On July 28, Cadence pleaded guilty to violating export controls on electronic design technology tools that originated in the United States.

Between 2015 through 2020, the company conspired to sell hardware and software to China’s National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) after that institution was placed on the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List. Violations were facilitated through Cadence’s wholly controlled, Shanghai-based subsidiary.

Cadence is now slated to pay more than $140 million in aggregate penalties and forfeiture.

Cotton noted that Intel recently received $8 billion of direct funding through the CHIPS and Science Act. The money, which came on top of a 25 percent tax credit and a $3 billion contract for semiconductor manufacturing under the Secure Enclave program, was given to Intel to support semiconductor production and related activities in Oregon, Ohio, New Mexico, and Arizona.

In an email to The Epoch Times, an Intel spokesperson wrote that “Intel and Mr. Tan are deeply committed to the national security of the United States and the integrity of our role in the U.S. defense ecosystem.”

“We appreciate Senator Cotton’s focus on these shared priorities. We look forward to addressing these matters with the Senator,” the spokesperson added.

In a March press release on Tan’s appointment as CEO, Yeary lauded the businessman as “an exceptional leader whose technology industry expertise, deep relationships across the product and foundry ecosystems, and proven track record of creating shareholder value is exactly what Intel needs in its next CEO.”

In his letter, Cotton asks if the board “was aware of Cadence’s subpoenas before hiring Mr. Tan as CEO?”

“If so, what measures were taken to address concerns about Cadence’s activities under Mr. Tan?” the letter continues.

Cotton also asked if Intel has required Tan to divest from firms linked to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s military prior to his appointment as CEO.

“Has Mr. Tan disclosed any remaining investments, professional roles, or other ties to Chinese companies to the U.S. government?” Cotton asked.

It also drew attention to the company’s Secure Enclave award, which was executed by the Department of Defense.

The Department of Defense had no comment.

Tan, 65, who is ethnically Chinese, was born in Johor, Malaysia, and raised in Singapore before moving to the United States, where he obtained a Master’s in nuclear engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an MBA at the University of San Francisco.

Tan has worked at several tech companies, including at SMIC—the China-based competitor to Taiwan’s semiconductor manufacturing company TSMC.

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