U.S. chipmaker Intel has deleted references to Xinjiang from an annual letter to suppliers.
Intel had faced a backlash in China for asking suppliers to avoid Xinjiang.
Intel had been slammed on Chinese social media for a letter to suppliers published on its website.
The letter said Intel had been “required to ensure that its supply chain does not use any labour or source goods or services from the Xinjiang region” following restrictions imposed by “multiple governments”.
Reuters found that the above paragraph, or any reference to Xinjiang or China, was no longer in the letter.
Reuters reports that the letter now reads that the company prohibits “any human trafficked or involuntary labour such as forced, debt bonded, prison, indentured, or slave labour throughout your extended supply chains.”
The United States has accused China of widespread human rights abuses in Xinjiang, home to the country’s predominantly Muslim Uyghurs, including forced labour, claims Beijing has repeatedly denied.
