US President Donald Trump on Monday sought to defend his unusual intervention in a sanctions violation case against China’s ZTE, after bipartisan criticism of the move in Washington.
“ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from US companies,” the president tweeted, after a day of mounting controversy. “This is also reflective of the larger trade deal we are negotiating with China and my personal relationship with President Xi.”
His comments came ahead of the anticipated arrival on Tuesday in Washington of Xi Jinping's top economic adviser, Liu He, for trade negotiations. China has insisted the US commerce department lift a seven-year ban imposed last month on ZTE sourcing parts from the US.