US government bars Intel, Qualcomm from selling chips to Huawei
What's the story
The United States government has revoked licenses that permitted Intel and Qualcomm to sell chips to Huawei Technologies, per the Financial Times.
The Chinese brand has been under US trade restrictions since 2019. The latest action will affect its laptop business.
Recently, Huawei unveiled an AI laptop incorporating Intel's latest Core Ultra 9 processor.
The launch was criticized by Republican lawmakers, interpreting it as an indication that the US Commerce Department had authorized Intel to supply the chip to Huawei.
License revocation
Export licenses revoked amid security concerns
A Commerce Department representative stated, "We continuously assess how our controls can best protect our national security and foreign policy interests, taking into consideration a constantly changing threat environment and technological landscape."
He further explained the revocation process, stating, "As part of this process, as we have done in the past, we sometimes revoke export licenses."
The representative didn't disclose if other companies were also affected, but confirmed that "we have revoked certain licenses for exports to Huawei."
China's response
Experts claim Huawei aids China's cyber espionage efforts
The latest move by the US comes amid allegations from national security experts accusing Huawei of assisting China in cyber espionage activities.
The Chinese foreign ministry has denied any misconduct in response to these allegations.
"China resolutely opposes the United States overstretching the concept of national security and abusing export controls to suppress Chinese companies without justification," the ministry said in a statement.
Huawei also refutes allegations of espionage.