Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger wrapped up a low-key trip to China this week, the second to the country in three months, as the US chip giant doubles down on the Chinese market despite an intensifying tech war between the US and China.
Gelsinger’s reported itinerary included a Wednesday visit to the Beijing headquarters of New H3C Group, a major Chinese IT equipment supplier under Tsinghua Unigroup. H3C said in a statement that Gelsinger met with Li Bin, president of Tsinghua Union Group, and H3C CEO Yu Yingtao, adding that the company will use Intel’s Gaudi2 processors in its latest server products.
On the same day, Gelsinger visited xFusion Technologies, a provider of computing power infrastructure and services, where he held talks with its chairman Liu Hongyun on cooperation in “green data center innovation and AI computing power,” according to a declaration of xFusion.
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Gelsinger began his journey on Monday with a visit to Intel’s chip packaging and testing plant in Chengdu, the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, where a celebration marked Intel’s 20th anniversary of operations in the city. The head of Intel was received by Huang Qiang, provincial governor of Sichuan and Shi Xiaolin, party secretary of Chengdu, according to local media.
Gelsinger said Chengdu has played a vital role in the company’s global supply chain and noted that its “conducive” business environment has paved the way for Intel’s “stable growth” and “boosted confidence” for the company in expanding in the region, according to a Chengdu government statement.
Intel did not disclose Gelsinger’s China itinerary.
Intel’s Habana Gaudi2 processor board designed for AI training and inference. Photo: Handout alt=Intel’s Habana Gaudi2 processor board designed for AI training and inference. Photo: Pantry>
The trip also coincided with the Chinese launch of the company’s Gaudi 2 processor designed for artificial intelligence (AI) deep learning applications. The processor, which is not subject to US export restrictions, is an alternative to Nvidia’s A100 GPUs that are widely used for training AI systems.
The processor will also be used by Inspur, China’s leading AI server maker, which announced on Tuesday that its new NF5698G7 AI server will be based on Gaudi 2.
Gelsinger’s last visit to China was in April, when he noted that China remains a key market for Intel, noting that the company has been in the country since 1986.
Despite continued efforts by the Biden administration to limit the export of advanced chip technologies to Chinese companies, the country remains a key market for US chipmakers.
Intel, which generates more than a quarter of its revenues from China, is under pressure to improve its financial performance. In the first quarter of this year, its revenue fell 36% year over year to $11.7 billion and it posted a net loss of $2.8 billion, compared to net income of $8.1 billion. dollars from the previous year, according to its latest report. financial report.
Separately, Chinese regulators have not yet approved Intel’s acquisition of Israel-based wafer foundry Tower Semiconductor. Analysts believe the slow progress of merger deals involving US companies is part of Beijing’s pushback against Washington’s sanctions.
There have been no reports of Gelsinger meeting with China’s antitrust regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation, during his trip last week.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice covering China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP Facebook page and Chirping pages. Copyright 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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