US chipmaker Intel has deleted references to Xinjiang from an annual letter to suppliers after the company faced a backlash in China for asking suppliers to avoid the sanctions-hit region.

Last month, Intel was slammed on Chinese social media for a letter to suppliers published on its website. The Dec 23 letter said Intel had been "required to ensure that its supply chain does not use any labour or source goods or services from the Xinjiang region" following restrictions imposed by "multiple governments".

This paragraph, or any reference to Xinjiang or China, was no longer in the letter, according to a Reuters review of the same page on Tuesday. The letter now reads that the company prohibits "any human trafficked or...