Dhaka, Aug. 8 -- US President Donald Trump on Thursday demanded the immediate resignation of new Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, calling him "highly conflicted" due to his ties to Chinese firms and raising doubts about plans to turn around the struggling American chip icon.

Reuters reported exclusively in April that Tan invested at least $200 million in hundreds of Chinese advanced manufacturing and chip firms, some of which were linked to the Chinese military.

Trump's comments came a day after Reuters was first to report that Republican Senator Tom Cotton had sent a letter to Intel's board chair with questions about Tan's ties to Chinese firms and a recent criminal case involving his former firm Cadence Design, as per a Reuters report.

"The CEO...