Report: U.S., China Agree on Terms to Lift Restrictions on ZTE

The U.S. and China have worked out the terms of an agreement that would allow the blacklisted Chinese telecom giant ZTE to do certain forms of business with U.S. companies, The Wall Street Journal reports. Sources cited in the report said ZTE, which was barred from working with U.S. companies after violating U.S. sanctions and allegedly lying to investigators, would be allowed to buy components and software from American companies under the tentative agreement. In exchange, the company would be forced to make serious changes to management and possibly pay substantial fines, according to the report. The news comes a week after President Trump vowed to help the company get “back into business, fast” on Twitter, and just one day after Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin insisted ZTE was not a bargaining chip in ongoing trade talks. After declaring the trade war with China “on hold” following an agreement by Beijing to boost its purchases of U.S. goods, Mnuchin said on Fox News Sunday that the White House “didn’t agree to any quid pro quo” regarding ZTE.