ZTE holds discussions with US on lifting export restrictions

The United States Department of Commerce is expected this week to lift export curbs it imposed on Chinese telecom company ZTE Corp for alleged violations of a US trade restriction.

"The relief would be temporary in nature and would be maintained only if ZTE is abiding by its commitments to the US government," Reuters reported on Monday, citing a senior official at the agency.

The details of the commitments are expected to be published this week in the US Federal Register.

The restrictions imposed earlier this month made it difficult for ZTE to acquire US components by requiring its suppliers to apply for an export license before shipping any US-made equipment or parts to ZTE.

The department had said the license applications generally would be denied.

"We are aware of the latest media reports. ZTE has been actively cooperating with relevant US departments and has had constructive discussions over the past two weeks," said a ZTE statement e-mailed to China Daily.

"ZTE hopes to make positive progress through open dialogue to ensure we keep our promises and commitments to our employees, customers and business partners," it added.

According to ZTE, as a responsible business, the company strives to ensure all operational activities adhere to international trade practices and the laws and regulations of host countries, and it will "keep communicating with relevant parties to resolve the issue as soon as possible".

Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said last week that China is "greatly dissatisfied" with the US decision to ban the Shenzhen, Guangdong-based company from buying parts from US suppliers.

"I hope the US could handle the issue with discretion to avoid harming the stable, healthy development of Sino-US trade ties," said Gao.

As of Monday, ZTE stocks had remained suspended in the Shenzhen and Hong Kong bourses for two weeks.

According to US research consulting firm International Data Corp, ZTE is currently the No 4 smartphone vendor in the US, with a 7 percent market share, behind Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics Inc. It sells handset devices to three of the four largest US mobile carriers－AT&T Inc, T-Mobile US and Sprint Corp.

The company is also working on promoting Pre5G, an intermediate step between the current 4G and 5G technology, and making innovative use of Massive MIMO (multiple input multiple output) technology to enhance wireless spectrum efficiency, boost network capacity and allow faster speeds.

"When people are considering fully accomplishing the standardization of 5G around 2018 and 2019 and implementing large-scale commercialization by 2020, ZTE is keen on providing a certain scale of Pre5G services to its customers," said Xiang Jiying, chief technology officer of ZTE's wireless products division.

The company announced last month that it will market Pre5G technology in at least 10 countries and regions across Asia and Europe in 2016.