April 26 (Reuters) - U.S. export controls on sending

advanced computing chips to China are not meant to hold back

China's economy or technological development, Secretary of State

Antony Blinken said during an interview with National Public

Radio on Friday.

Since 2022, U.S. officials have imposed sweeping controls on

which computing chips can be exported to China, cutting off some

sales from Nvidia ( NVDA ), Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) and

Intel ( INTC ), among others. Those controls followed earlier

bans on shipping chips to Huawei Technologies.

But U.S. officials have granted at least two U.S. companies

- Intel ( INTC ) and Qualcomm ( QCOM ) - licenses to keep shipping chips

to Huawei, which is using an Intel ( INTC ) chip to power a new laptop

model. Two Republican lawmakers earlier this week criticized the

exemption for Intel ( INTC ), but in the interview with NPR, Blinken

highlighted the device as a sign the U.S. was not trying to

hobble China.

"I saw that Huawei just put out a new laptop that it boasted

was AI capable, that uses an Intel ( INTC ) chip," Blinken told NPR host

Steve Inskeep while visiting Beijing. "I think it demonstrates

that what we're focused on is only the most sensitive technology

that could pose a threat to our security. We're not focused on

cutting off trade, or for that matter containing or holding back

China."

Intel ( INTC ) and Qualcomm's ( QCOM ) licenses to sell to Huawei were granted

during President Donald Trump's administration and have remained

in place under President Joe Biden. Those companies' direct

competitors, AMD and MediaTek ( MDTTF ), have not received

similar exemptions, and neither the Trump nor Biden

administrations have explained why.