Intel deletes reference to Xinjiang after a backlash in China

January 12, 2022: -U.S. chipmaker Intel has deleted references to Xinjiang from an annual letter to suppliers after the company faced a backlash in China for asking suppliers to avoid the sanctions-hit region.

In the previous month, Intel is slamming on Chinese social media for a letter to suppliers published on its website. The December 23 letter said Intel had been “required to ensure that its supply chain does not use any labor or source goods or services from the Xinjiang region” after following restrictions imposed by “multiple governments.”

According to a Reuters review of the page on Tuesday, this paragraph, or any reference to Xinjiang or China, was not in the letter. The letter now reads that the company prohibits “any human trafficked or involuntary labor like forced, debt bonded, prison, indentured, or slave labor throughout your extended supply chains.”

 It apologized in the previous month for the “trouble” it had caused, which says that its commitment to avoid supply chains from Xinjiang was an expression of compliance with U.S. law instead of a statement of its position on the issue.

Multinational companies have under pressure as they are aiming to comply with Xinjiang-related trade sanctions while continuing to operate in China, one of the biggest markets.

The U.S has accused China of widespread human rights abuses in Xinjiang, home to predominantly Muslim Uyghurs, including forced labor. Beijing has repeatedly denied the claims.

Intel’s deletion of the reference to Xinjiang in its annual letter to suppliers, which the Wall Street Journal first reported, was criticized by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio.

“Intel’s cowardice is yet one has the predictable consequence of economic reliance on China,” Rubio said in a statement.

“Instead of humiliating apologies and self-censorship, companies should move their supply chains to countries that do not use slave labor or commit genocide.”

Rubio was among the four U.S. politicians introducing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in the previous month, calling for a ban on imports from Xinjiang over allegations of forced labor there. On December 23, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the act into law.