Technology company and semiconductor chip manufacturer, Intel, recently received an "F" ranking on "an assessment of U.S. Companies’ exposure to military modernization, surveillance, and human Rights violations in the People’s Republic of China."
The Corporate Complicity Scorecard finds corporate support for Beijing is displayed in five primary ways: offshoring of manufacturing, offshoring of innovation, partnerships and engagements with Chinese government entities that support its military; compliance with Beijing’s regulatory system; and dependence on the Chinese market, according to a report published by Victimsofcommunism.org.
Several themes have emerged from the report of the profiled companies: first, U.S. companies are hypocritical by saying one thing in the U.S., while doing another in China; second, the corporations have offshored research and development; third, U.S. defense contractors partner with entities tied to the Chinese government and military, according to the report.
Intel's overall Corporate Complicity Scorecard grade is an "F". Intel manufactures its products in China while sharing technology with the communist country. Moreover, Intel invests in Chinese technology firms with links to the country's government and military. Its technology is also used in monitoring operations in Xinjiang, the report stated.
The company also has a vast production, research, and development footprint in China. Intel has collaborated with Chinese government research institutions to develop and implement surveillance technologies benefiting its military-civil fusion strategy. This strategy opens a pathway for technological innovations, developed or obtained through the private sector, to enter Chinese military utilization, according to the report.
In 1985, Intel established a Beijing office. Since then, the company's footprint in China has grown to 17 campuses, at least two production facilities, and several innovation and research and development centers. The Intel China Research Institute, launched in 1998, now has five centers. The institute focuses on research into artificial intelligence algorithms, autonomous system platforms, intelligent infrastructure, and 5G.
In 2002, the Asia Pacific Application Design Center (Shenzhen) was established by Intel to develop and support China's computing and communications industry, the report stated.
Intel also established Intel Products (Chengdu) Limited in 2003 to package and test Intel semiconductor products. In 2014, Intel announced it would invest $1.6 billion over the next 15 years.
Created in 2005, Intel’s Asia Pacific R&D Center focuses on operating systems, virtualization technology, big data, deep learning, basic input-output systems, firmware, cloud computing, data center platform development, as well as Internet of Things (IoT) and video technology.
The technological giant also has a partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Automation (CASIA), according to the report. The institute works on intelligent perception, transmission technology, and big data processing technology. Its technologies have military and surveillance applications; some of which have been deployed to monitor residents of smart cities and in the Xinjiang region.
Additionally, Intel's Chinese website states that its processors, adapters, and servers are used by the government for medical programs in Xinjiang, the report stated.