ZTE prepares to resume operations as US-China trade tension relaxed

As Washington and Beijing prepare to move forward with a deal that would lift the sales ban on ZTE, the Chinese telco has reportedly been busy getting ready to resume the operations that were ceased due to the ban.

The seven-year sales ban imposed by the US in April, which stopped US firms from supplying chips and components to ZTE, has forced the Chinese telco to halt some of its major business operations.

While the deal has not been finalized yet, ZTE is reportedly putting an action plan in place and making sure it is able to resume its business operations soon as the ban is lifted according to local media reports (in Chinese).

Now that the air has started to clear for ZTE, “all that’s left is the condition and the timing [of ZTE’s reprieve],” a ZTE employee said, quoted by Cailian Press (in Chinese).  “Now compliance is the number one priority. After the ban is lifted, the company should be resuming its operations within hours,” the sources added.

Yesterday, Reuters reported that the reprieve for ZTE could include China removing tariffs on imported US agricultural products and pledging to purchase more farm goods.

With major operations shutting down and clients pulling out of deals, ZTE is reportedly seeing at least RMB 20 billion ($3.1 billion) in losses from the sales ban.