A United States diplomat informed United Kingdom officials that Washington would "prefer" that London cancel the acquisition of a British microchip factory by a Chinese-owned company, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
According to people briefed on the discussions, the American official still did not ask his UK counterparts to annul the July 2021 deal under which Netherlands-based Nexperia, a subsidiary of Wingtech Technology from China, bought Newport Wafer Fab of Wales.
British Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng started an official investigation into the takeover under the UK National Security and Investment Act last week.