BEIJING: China on Monday hailed President Donald Trump’s offer to prevent Chinese telecom giant ZTE from collapsing due to a US technology ban, as the two sides prepare for new negotiations this week to avert a trade war.

In an apparent olive branch, Trump announced on Twitter that he had discussed how to save ZTE with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The fate of ZTE has become a key part of the talks between the top two world economies, with Chinese officials protesting at the ban during discussions with top US officials in Beijing earlier this month.

“We highly commend the positive remark from the US on the ZTE issue and now we are communicating with the US side on the details,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a regular press briefing.

ZTE, which employs 80,000 people, said last week its major operations had “ceased” after being banned for seven years from buying crucial American technology, raising the possibility of its collapse.

Its fibre-optic networks depend on US components and its cheap smartphones sold en masse abroad are powered by US chips and the Android operating system.

“President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast,” Trump tweeted on Sunday.

“Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!”

Trump’s concern for Chinese workers comes despite his repeated vows to bring back US jobs which he complains have been lost to other countries, particularly China.

“How about helping some American companies first?” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in response to Trump’s tweet.

US officials imposed the ban because of what they said were false statements by the firm over actions it claimed to have taken regarding the illegal sale of goods to Iran and North Korea. ZTE pleaded guilty to the charges in March last year and was hit with $1.2 billion in fines.

Trump has insisted that relations between Washington and Beijing have never been better and has been working closely with Xi to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme.

At the same time, threats of mutual tariffs have sparked fears of a trade war after Trump accused China of unfair practices that have cost American jobs.—AFP