Abu Dhabi’s G42 is paring back its presence in China and has pledged to invest in key Western markets in an effort to assuage US concerns over the artificial intelligence firm’s ties to Beijing, according to Bloomberg.
“All of our China investments that were previously made are already divested,” G42 Chief Executive Officer Peng Xiao said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “Because of that, of course, we have no need anymore for any physical China presence.”
The comments come months after a key US lawmaker urged the Commerce Department to consider trade restrictions on the firm over its ties to China, following allegations made in a New York Times article.
G42 denied the report, and said the company has “pursued a commercial strategy since 2022 to fully align with our US partners and not to engage with Chinese companies.”
That’s against a backdrop of broader pushback on entities perceived to have close ties with Beijing. Officials in President Joe Biden’s cabinet were reviewing over half a dozen acquisitions, people familiar with the matter said last year, including deals from Mubadala Investment Co., which owns a stake in G42.
