China and U.S. Working on a Deal to Save ZTE

BY Evan Selleck

Published 22 May 2018

ZTE announced recently that it had shut down its main business operations, but it looks like that may not last too long.

According to a pair of reports on Tuesday, the United States government and the Chinese government may be working on a deal that could save the Chinese smartphone manufacturer, as long as a few key elements are agreed upon. At the time of publication it isn’t known the exact details or expectations from either side in the talks, but The Wall Street Journal indicates that ZTE may be paying large fines, and that the company’s board and management may be shaken up, too.

Reuters, meanwhile, says that the U.S. is working to get China to make some concessions in regards to tariffs and importing other goods from the United States. Keep in mind that ZTE was banned from importing goods from U.S.-based companies like Qualcomm, so a demand from the U.S. of this nature would make sense.

According to this report, the U.S. wants the Chinese to import more farm goods from America, and wants the Chinese government to remove tariffs imposed on U.S. agricultural goods.

It’s worth noting that the talks are still ongoing, and it is possible that the sides are unable to come to terms. If that happens, it would seem unlikely that ZTE would be able to recover. However, the U.S. government seems intent on saving ZTE, so things aren’t looking as gloom for the smartphone manufacturer as they were just a couple of weeks ago.

[via WSJ; Reuters]