U.S. President Donald Trump on 7 Aug. publicly demanded the immediate resignation of Intel’s chief executive officer, Lip-Bu Tan, calling him “highly conflicted” over past investments in Chinese semiconductor companies. The accusation followed a letter from Republican Senator Tom Cotton that questioned Tan’s ties to firms allegedly linked to China’s military, intensifying political scrutiny of the newly appointed executive. The unusual presidential intervention sent Intel shares down as much as 5 % in pre-market trading that day and overshadowed Tan’s six-month effort to revive the chipmaker. In an internal memo, Tan rejected the allegations as “misinformation,” said he had always complied with U.S. law and ethics standards, and noted that Intel’s board fully backed his leadership. Over the weekend, reports emerged that Tan would seek to address the dispute directly at the White House. On 11 Aug., he met with Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. After the talks, Trump praised Tan’s “amazing story,” described the meeting as “very interesting,” and said his cabinet would work with the CEO on recommendations for the president in the coming week—an abrupt reversal from his earlier call for Tan’s ouster. Investors welcomed the softer tone. Intel shares climbed roughly 5 % during and after the meeting, recouping much of the earlier loss. The episode highlights the growing role of U.S.–China tensions in corporate governance and adds another variable to Intel’s multibillion-dollar turnaround as it competes for CHIPS Act subsidies and seeks to narrow the technology gap with Nvidia in artificial-intelligence processors.