Image Source : TMTPost

BEIJING, April 12 (TMTPOST) —— China’s Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao has met with U.S. chip giant Intel’s Chief Executive Director (CEO) Patrick Gelsinger and discussed China-U.S. economic and trade relations on Tuesday, with a focus on maintaining the safety and stability of the global semiconductor industry chain and Intel's development in China, according to the ministry's website.

Gelsinger said at an Intel forum in Beijing on Wednesday that Intel China is a strategic priority for Intel. The company has a long-term commitment to China, its market, and its customers and partners. As a company that has been rooted in China for nearly 40 years, Intel

has developed its business in the world’s second largest economy and turned China into its largest overseas market.

At the Intel forum, Gelsinger said that Intel's computing architecture can be built into large supercomputers or computing devices used to train AI, as well as into tiny computing devices such as wristbands, portable devices and even hearing AIDS.

Intel has saved 22 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, and 36 billion gallons of water and reduced its carbon footprint in China by 80 percent over the past 20 years. Intel is working with governments, suppliers, partners, and other non-profit organizations to promote green and sustainable development. "I've always been a techno-optimist, believing in the power of technology to drive progress and change that no other industry can match. Intel is privileged to be a leader and a player in the technology industry. We have the power to change every aspect of our future lives, and together we have the opportunity to benefit every single person on the planet," said Gelsinger. 

Gelsinger is among an array of multinational executives who have visited China recently. Nearly 100 well-known executives, including Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, Qualcomm’s President and CEO Jeffrey Ammon, ASML’s global president Peter Wennink, and Eli Lilly’s Chairman and CEO David Ricks, have visited China and met with Chinese officials to demonstrate their companies' confidence in the Chinese market since the beginning of this year.

Like Apple, Intel has derived a large portion of its revenue from China. China is Intel's largest market outside the United States, accounting for 27 percent of global revenue in 2022, or $17.125 billion, according to its financial report. 

Wang Rui, the Senior Vice President of Intel Corporation and Chairman of Intel China, told TMTPost that Intel China has captured 25 to 30 percent of the Chinese market every year.

Intel announced the establishment of Intel Integrated Circuit (Hainan) Co., Ltd. in Sanya, Hainan on the eve of Gelsinger's arrival in China. The Intel Sanya office officially opened last Saturday, marking the start of the Intel Hainan business operation. It is reported that Intel Hainan Company, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel in Hainan Free Trade Port, will provide cross-border software and hardware product distribution and settlement, software design and licensing, system integration, talent training, and other related services for the Chinese market, as well as equity investment activities for domestic start-ups.