The CEO of Intel, Lip-Bu Tan, met President Donald Trump on Monday in an emergency mission to defuse scrutiny of his leadership of the embattled chip company, just days after the President called for his immediate resignation over supposed ties to China. It seems to have worked.

After the afternoon meeting at the White House, Trump posted on Truth Social that his discussion with Tan “was a very interesting one”, though he did not elaborate. Trump said that Tan and Cabinet members would meet next week and “bring suggestions to me,” adding that the Intel chief’s “success and rise is an amazing story”.

Trump’s post appeared to signal that he was changing his mind about any national security risk posed by Tan, 65, who became Intel’s CEO in March. Trump’s call last week for Tan to resign, citing his past investments in Chinese companies, was one of the first times the President had attempted to intervene to change the leadership at a major publicly traded company.

In a statement on Monday, Intel said that Tan and Trump had a “candid and constructive discussion on Intel’s commitment to strengthening US technology and manufacturing leadership”.

The high-stakes conversation between the President and the Intel chief came at a crucial moment for the flagging American semiconductor manufacturer, which has fallen far behind rivals. The company forced out its previous CEO, Patrick Gelsinger, last year and installed Tan, who had previously been on its board, in March to turn around the company.

New York Times News Service