WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump pledged on Sunday to help Chinese technology company ZTE Corp "get back into business, fast" after a US ban crippled the company, offering a job-saving concession to Beijing ahead of high-stakes trade talks this week.
"Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!" Trump wrote on Twitter in the first of two tweets about US trade relations with China. It said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are working together on a solution for ZTE.
Shortly after Trump's tweet, a Democratic lawmaker questioned the move to help the Chinese company, given numerous warnings about ZTE's alleged threat to US national security.
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 US goods to Iran.
The U.S. Commerce Department, ZTE and the Chinese Embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.