Intel Apologizes to China for Wanting to Stop Cooperation With Xinjiang
Intel's call to break off cooperation with the Xinjiang region was negatively received by the Chinese. This, in turned, prompted the company to publish an official apology in a damage control attempt.
- Intel apologizes for calling for an end to cooperation with the Chinese province of Xinjiang;
- The case is related to international sanctions.
Intel is apologizing to Chinese consumers for a letter it sent to its suppliers earlier today. The CPU manufacturing giant seems to perceive this as a mistake and is distancing itself from its own statements. The information sent to suppliers, which became known to the wider public, was about the planned limiting of cooperation with the Xinjiang region and demanded:
"(...) required to ensure that its supply chain does not use any labour or source goods or services from the Xinjiang region."
The post referring to previous communications with partners appeared on Thursday on Intel's WeChat and Weibo accounts:
"We apologise for the trouble caused to our respected Chinese customers, partners and the public. Intel is committed to becoming a trusted technology partner and accelerating joint development with China," Intel wrote
The whole situation has to do with the sanctions imposed by many countries on the Xinjiang autonomous region. According to the UN, the Chinese authorities are holding more than a million representatives of the Uyghur and Muslim minorities in forced labour camps. Intel goes on to explain in the post that the new terms of agreement with regional contractors were only meant to be in compliance with U.S. government restrictions.
Both the call to stop doing business with the Xinjiang region and the attempt to fix the blunder have been received negatively by the Chinese internet community. Singer and actor Karry Wang (Wang Junkai) wants to resign from being an Intel brand ambassador in China due to the situation. Many internet users claim that the apology is just a move to salvage sales. The Global Times (owned by the Chinese government), arguing that 26% of the company's revenue comes from China, urged Intel "not to bite the hand that feeds it".
Xinjiang
The extensive area of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is a sparsely populated region belonging to China. It is mostly occupied by the Uyghurs, an ethnic group of Turkish origin. The Chinese constitute a minority, together with Kazakhs, Mongols and several others.
China is not too keen on gaming and cryptocurrencies:
