Micron Taking Steps to Improve Relations with China, Appoints Head of Government Affairs

Hiring HR Experts with Over 30 Years of Experience
Announcement Made During US Commerce Secretary's Visit to China
Sanctions Lifted After Three Months... "Expectations for US-China Tension Easing"

U.S. semiconductor company Micron has taken steps to improve relations with China by recruiting a head of government affairs for China. This comes just three months after Micron was placed on China's sanctions list amid U.S. government pressure on China. The move is notable as it follows U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo's visit to China, where she raised the Micron issue, raising attention to whether tensions between the U.S. and China might ease somewhat.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 29th, Micron announced on the 28th (local time) that it appointed Jeff Li (Li Xinming), who has over 30 years of experience in public office and corporate sectors, as the head of government affairs for China. Micron explained that he has extensive experience with Chinese government affairs and policies, as well as knowledge related to the semiconductor industry.

Manish Bhatia, Vice President of Micron's Global Business Unit, said, "Micron has operated in China for 20 years, building a strong operational and customer base, including a testing and packaging facility in Xi'an. We believe Li's rich experience as a government affairs expert will contribute to the company."

Micron's announcement came as Secretary Raimondo visited China and established a deputy-level export control consultation body, holding its first meeting in Beijing. SCMP analyzed, "This came amid growing expectations that Raimondo's visit would ease tensions between the U.S. and China over technology and trade," and described it as "a new signal that Micron is trying to improve relations with China."

In fact, foreign media reported that Raimondo conveyed various U.S. concerns, including measures against Intel and Micron, which have been targeted by China, during talks with Wang Wentao, China's Minister of Commerce, in Beijing the previous day. Raimondo also told reporters after the meeting that discussions were held regarding China's government ban on Micron's memory semiconductor purchases.

Earlier, on May 21, the Chinese government announced that serious security issues were found in Micron products, which failed to pass security reviews, and stated, "Operators of critical information infrastructure must stop purchasing Micron products according to the law." This was interpreted as a retaliatory measure against the Biden administration's various semiconductor export control measures aimed at pressuring China.

Micron maintains that it cannot abandon its key market, China. As of last year, China accounted for about 25% of Micron's sales. In June, Micron projected that half of its local sales would be affected by China's sanctions.

In an apparent effort to resolve this situation, Micron announced on June 16 via the Chinese social media platform WeChat that it would invest 4.3 billion yuan (approximately 770 billion KRW) to expand its semiconductor packaging plant in Xi'an. The company explained that this investment would create 500 new jobs, bringing the total number of employees to about 4,500.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.