Trump Pressures Domestic Companies Too... "Will Bring Intel's Proposal Next Week" (Comprehensive)

Meeting with Intel CEO Amidst "China-Related Allegations"

Trump's Stance Shifts from Demanding Resignation... Intel Stock Rises

"Nvidia to Pay 15% of China Sales to US Government"

US President Donald Trump [Reuters Yonhap News. Reproduction and database prohibited]

US President Donald Trump announced on the 11th (local time) that he met with Pat Gelsinger, CEO of US semiconductor company Intel, which has been accused of having close ties to China.

Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on the same day, "Today, I met with Intel's Pat Gelsinger along with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessant," adding, "It was a very interesting meeting."

He further stated, "His success and rise are an amazing story," and "Mr. Gelsinger and my cabinet members will spend time together, and he will bring me a proposal next week."

Intel's stock rose 3% in after-hours trading on the same day, according to Reuters. Intel's stock had fallen 3.1% on the 7th when President Trump demanded the resignation of CEO Gelsinger.

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger [Reuters Yonhap News file photo. Reproduction and database prohibited]

Previously, US Senator Tom Cotton (Republican-Arkansas), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, sent a letter to Intel's board of directors, raising suspicions that CEO Gelsinger was associated with a semiconductor company known to have ties to the Chinese Communist Party and military.

On July 28, the US Department of Justice fined US semiconductor design company Cadence Design Systems $140 million (approximately 200 billion won) for violating export controls by illegally selling semiconductor design software and hardware to shell companies representing China's National University of Defense Technology between 2015 and 2021. Gelsinger was the CEO of this company during that period.

It has also been reported that Gelsinger invested at least $200 million (approximately 280 billion won) in advanced manufacturing and semiconductor companies in China from March 2012 to the end of last year.

President Trump had previously demanded the immediate resignation of CEO Gelsinger in a Truth Social post on the 7th, stating, "There is no other solution to this problem."

In response, CEO Gelsinger visited the White House on the same day. Given President Trump's somewhat softened stance towards him, it appears Gelsinger succeeded in providing explanations and persuasion to some extent.

In particular, as President Trump mentioned that CEO Gelsinger would bring a "proposal," it is speculated that future cooperation with the Trump administration, such as large-scale investments by Intel, may be announced.

In a statement on the same day, Intel said that CEO Gelsinger had a frank and constructive discussion with President Trump about the company's commitment to strengthening US technology and manufacturing leadership. The company also stated it would work closely with the Trump administration to rebuild Intel.

Gelsinger, a Malaysian-born Chinese American, was appointed as the new CEO of Intel, which was facing management difficulties, in March.

Despite CEO Gelsinger's efforts to restructure by scaling back some operations and businesses as a key figure brought in to rebuild Intel, the company's management difficulties continue. Coupled with the emerging China-related allegations, he found himself in a difficult situation, with President Trump demanding his resignation.

Reuters reported that the US president's public demand for a CEO's resignation was a rare occurrence, raising questions about corporate governance control.

Reuters also evaluated that this was clearly demonstrated in the agreement by US artificial intelligence (AI) chipmakers Nvidia and AMD to pay 15% of their China sales to the US government.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang attending a White House event [UPI Yonhap News file photo. Reproduction and database prohibited]

Earlier on the 11th, the Financial Times (FT) and others reported, citing sources, that Nvidia and AMD had agreed to pay 15% of their China sales to the US government as a condition for obtaining semiconductor export licenses for the Chinese market.

US government sources said that Nvidia agreed to pay 15% of its revenue from H20 chip sales in China to the government, and AMD also agreed to pay 15% of its MI308 chip revenue. Yonhap News