Trump says he's working with China to save ZTE 特朗普：正助中兴恢复业务

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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday on Sunday he will help Chinese technology company ZTE Corp "get back into business, fast," after being crippled by a U.S. ban, a concession to Beijing ahead of high-stakes trade talks this week.

ZTE suspended its main operations after the U.S. Commerce Department banned American companies from selling to the firm for seven years as punishment for ZTE breaking an agreement reached after it was caught illegally shipping U.S. goods to Iran.

Trump's instructions to the Commerce Department, stated in a tweet, come as Chinese and U.S. officials prepare for talks in Washington with China's top trade official Liu He to resolve an escalating trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.

Trump's proposed reversal will likely ease relations between the United States and China. The world's two biggest economies have already proposed tens of billions of dollars in tariffs in recent weeks, fanning worries of a full-blown trade war that could hurt global supply chains as well as business investment plans.

In trade talks in Beijing earlier this month, China asked the United States to ease crushing sanctions on ZTE, one of the world's largest telecom equipment makers, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Trump's reversal could have a significant impact on shares of American optical components makers such as Acacia Communications Inc and Oclaro Inc which saw their stock prices fall when U.S. companies were banned from exporting goods to ZTE.

ZTE paid over $2.3 billion to 211 U.S. exporters in 2017, a senior ZTE official said on Friday.

"Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!" Trump wrote on Twitter, saying he is working with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a solution.

The U.S. Commerce Department, ZTE and the Chinese Embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.

The U.S. government launched an investigation into ZTE after Reuters reported in 2012 the company had signed contracts to ship millions of dollars' worth of hardware and software from some of the best known U.S. technology companies to Iran.

ZTE pleaded guilty last year to conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions by illegally shipping U.S. goods and technology to Iran and entered into an agreement with the U.S. government. The ban is the result of ZTE's failure to comply with that agreement, the Commerce Department said.

The ban came two months after two Republican senators introduced legislation to block the U.S. government from buying or leasing telecommunications equipment from ZTE or Huawei, citing concern the companies would use their access to spy on U.S. officials.

Without specifying companies or countries, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, recently said "hidden 'backdoors' to our networks in routers, switches, and other network equipment can allow hostile foreign powers to inject viruses and other malware, steal Americans' private data, spy on U.S. businesses, and more."

ZTE relies on U.S. companies such as Qualcomm Inc, Intel Corp and Alphabet Inc's Google. American companies are estimated to provide 25 percent to 30 percent of the components used in ZTE's equipment, which includes smartphones and gear to build telecommunications networks.

中兴事件或现重大转机 特朗普：正助中兴恢复业务

5月13日晚间，美国总统特朗普发布推特称：我们正在为中兴通讯提供一种快速恢复业务的途径。中国（指中兴）有太多的工作岗位流失，我已告知商务部要完成这项工作。

众所周知，美国商务部上个月宣布禁止美国公司在7年之内向中兴出售产品，导致中兴业务几近瘫痪，在中美之间和全球范围内激起轩然大波。美方宣称中兴“提供了虚假信息”，因此作出上述绝罚。中兴宣称，此次未能履行与美国签订的协议内容，是因为中兴在流程和人力资源方面的失误导致，公司从未故意向政府撒谎。因此中兴认为，美国向中兴实施的 “过于严苛”的禁令，实在是一个极不公平的惩罚。

美方处罚中兴的理由受到普遍质疑，国际舆论中有大量这是美国为配合对华贸易战打出的一张牌的分析。

由于美国政府实施的此项禁令，中兴主要业务已停止运营。该禁令对中兴来说，打击是毁灭性的，因为它依赖美国公司生产一系列关键产品，其中包括用于其智能手机的半导体和其网络设备中使用的组件。去年，中兴在美国公司的零部件上花费了20多亿美元。

中兴通讯还表示，该禁令意味着它将无法服务许多网络客户，包括1亿印度用户、3亿印度尼西亚用户、2900万意大利用户以及奥地利的5800个无线基站等等。

预计中兴通讯的禁令也将为这些公司的美国主要供应商在收入和就业方面带来可观的损失。

根据加利福尼亚光学设备制造商NeoPhotonics 4月份的一份声明，该公司与中兴通讯及其供应链合作伙伴预计的年收入增长率将达到5%。与2017年中兴通讯及其供应链合作伙伴的业务约占NeoPhotonics总收入的3%。

作为美国市场上第四大手机供应商，中兴通讯表示已直接或间接支持美国约13万个高科技工作岗位。

无论美方当时做那个制裁是出于什么原因，特朗普总统的最新宣布都是值得欢迎的好决定。中兴的产品中使用了包括芯片在内的大量美国产元器件，很难迅速全都找到替代品。如果特朗普的最新表态很快得到落实，有8万员工的中兴公司将避免休克。

值得指出的是，恢复对中兴的供货既有利于中兴和它的美国供货商，也将有利于维护美国的商业信誉。

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