EU Hits Intel With $400 Million Antitrust Fine in Long-Running Computer Chip Case 

 01 September 2022, Berlin: Intel logo seen at the IFA electronics trade show. (dpa)
01 September 2022, Berlin: Intel logo seen at the IFA electronics trade show. (dpa)
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EU Hits Intel With $400 Million Antitrust Fine in Long-Running Computer Chip Case 

 01 September 2022, Berlin: Intel logo seen at the IFA electronics trade show. (dpa)
01 September 2022, Berlin: Intel logo seen at the IFA electronics trade show. (dpa)

European Union antitrust enforcers slapped Intel on Friday with a fresh $400 million fine in a long-running legal fight that the chipmaker appeared to have won last year.

The European Commission imposed the 376.4-million-euro fine after a court threw out an original 1.06-billion-euro penalty issued in 2009 over allegations that the Santa Clara, California-based company used illegal sales tactics to shut out smaller rival AMD.

The commission, the 27-nation bloc's top antitrust watchdog, accused Intel of abusing its dominant position in the global market for x86 microprocessors with a strategy to exclude rivals by using rebates and sales restrictions.

The EU’s General Court last year annulled the original decision, saying that the commission's analysis of the rebates didn't meet legal standards.

However, the court confirmed that the sales restrictions amounted to an abuse of Intel's dominant market position. It couldn't decide how the total fine could be divided up between the two offenses, leaving the commission to come up with a new number.

“The lower fine imposed by today’s decision reflects the narrower scope of the infringement compared to the 2009 Commission decision,” the EU watchdog said.

Intel's European press team didn't respond immediately to an email seeking comment.



China’s Xi Lauds AI Progress, Meets BRICs Bank on Shanghai Visit 

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives for a two-day state visit, at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives for a two-day state visit, at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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China’s Xi Lauds AI Progress, Meets BRICs Bank on Shanghai Visit 

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives for a two-day state visit, at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he arrives for a two-day state visit, at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam, April 14, 2025. (Reuters)

China's President Xi Jinping urged Shanghai to accelerate efforts to turn itself into a technological and innovation hub with global influence as he made his first visit to the city since November 2023, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Xi said that Shanghai, China's main international financial hub, should strive to be at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) development and governance, the report added.

The Shanghai visit comes at a time when the trade war with the United States has raised the stakes for global economic growth, and as China pushes forward with AI development in the wake of DeepSeek.

Xi urged the city to expand its exploration of AI models and said more supportive policies for the technology should be rolled out, as he visited an incubation lab for AI startups and tried on a set of smart glasses, the report said.

The Chinese president also visited the Shanghai-based New Development Bank, a multilateral bank of BRICS member nations, and met its president, former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Xinhua said.