Intel says it’s been selling tech to Huawei as the US eases up on the Chinese company

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Major US chipmaker Intel on Wednesday said it had begun selling products to Huawei again as the US begins to loosen restrictions on the Chinese telecommunications giant.
Intel CEO Bob Swan told CNBC on Wednesday that the company had resumed selling certain products to Huawei "within the rules of the law" during the second quarter, and that it was seeking permission to sell "general purpose computing" chips to the company that he believes do not pose a national security risk.
Intel's renewed business with Huawei comes as the US continues to shift its policy regarding the Chinese telecommunications giant, which has been thrust into the center of trade war negotiations between China and the US.
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US chipmaker Intel on Wednesday said it had begun selling products to Huawei again as the US begins to loosen the restrictions placed on the Chinese telecommunications giant in May.

Intel CEO Bob Swan told CNBC on Wednesday that the company had resumed selling certain products to Huawei "within the rules of the law" during the second quarter. He added that Intel was seeking permission to sell "general purpose computing" chips to the company that he believes do not pose a national security risk.

Swan said the company has also submitted "quite a few licenses" to sell products which President Trump has stated would be processed in a "timely" manner.

Intel's renewed business with Huawei comes as the US continues to shift its policy regarding Huawei, the largest telecommunications equipment producer in the world, which has been thrust into the center of trade war negotiations between China and the US.

The Trump administration previously raised concerns that Huawei technology could pose a national security risk and may be used as a backdoor for Chinese government espionage. Other nations, including Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, have also considered that Huawei tech might pose a security risk.

The US Department of Commerce added Huawei to a trade blacklist in May, which prevented the company from buying important parts and components from American companies without US government approval.

But after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit last month, President Trump said that US firms can resume selling equipment to Huawei.

"US companies can sell their equipment to Huawei ... there's no great, national emergency problem," Trump told reporters after his meeting.

Earlier this month, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced an easing of restrictions against the Chinese company in line with Trump's statements after the G20 summit, stating that the US would issue licenses to US companies looking to sell to Huawei as long as it does not pose a threat to national security, though the company remains on the US trade blacklist.

President Trump also met with leaders from Google, Cisco, Intel, Qualcomm, Micron, Broadcom, and Western Digital Corporation — all top producers of US technology equipment — to discuss national security restrictions against sales to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.

Trump's meeting with prominent US chipmakers followed reports that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin encouraged US suppliers to seek governmental approval to resume selling equipment to the embattled Chinese company in an attempt to uplift trade negotiations with China.

This week, Mnuchin and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer held a brief round of trade talks with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing after previous negotiations reached a deadlock in May and led to both countries announcing increasing tariffs on a wide array of imports.

Beijing said it considered this week's talks "constructive," according to CNBC, and agreed to reconvene talks with the US in September.

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