US President Donald Trump has withdrawn the nomination of Landon Heid, a China hawk, for a key post in the countries’ ongoing tech battle, raising questions about whether the move signals a more dovish approach to Beijing.
Trump withdrew Heid’s nomination on Wednesday for assistant secretary for export administration at the US Department of Commerce, according to Congress.gov. The president had selected him in February for the post overseeing export controls for national security.
Chris McGuire, an expert on technology and national security who served at the US Department of State until this summer, called the withdrawal “very concerning” on Thursday.
“Hopefully this does not signal that the administration plans to further weaken US restrictions on sales of our most advanced technologies to China, but I fear that it does,” McGuire wrote in a social media post.
Trump confirms Nvidia deal to sell lower-end chips to China
Trump confirms Nvidia deal to sell lower-end chips to China
Neither a White House spokesman nor Heid responded to requests for comment.
