Penalties against China telecom giant ZTE become a bargaining chip as White House, Chinese...
Source: The Washington Post
Penalties against China telecom giant ZTE become a bargaining chip as White House, Chinese officials discuss potential trade deal
By Damian Paletta, Ellen Nakashima and Steven Mufson May 13 at 10:24 PM
The White House and senior Chinese officials are discussing a targeted economic deal that would relax severe penalties on ZTE, a major Chinese telecom company, in exchange for unspecified demands from President Trump, two people briefed on the discussions said Sunday.
The talks are fluid, and President Trump has shown a willingness to veer between extremes in how he interacts with Beijing. But Trump said Sunday on Twitter that he wanted federal regulators to take the unusual step of relaxing penalties on ZTE, even though the Chinese company has been accused of illicitly shipping goods to North Korea and Iran.
What Trump didn’t reveal publicly is how much the company has become a bargaining chip as the White House tries to extract trade-related concessions from China while pushing for cooperation on sanctions against Iran and North Korea, the people said.
Trump pledged on Sunday to help ZTE return to business, days after the company said it would "cease major operating activities" because of the U.S. government’s recent trade restrictions. Those restrictions bar U.S. firms for seven years from exporting critical microchips and other parts to ZTE.
Read more: Link to source
= new reply since forum marked as read
