Export ban has put ZTE ‘in a state of shock’ as China warns US against irresponsibility
If no settlement is reached with the US, the seven-year export ban would not only put ZTE, China’s largest listed telecommunications equipment maker, out of business, but deal a major blow to the country’s hi-tech ambitions
China’s foreign ministry on Friday warned the United States government about turning the tide in Sino-US relations as an export ban threatens to put ZTE Corp, the country’s largest listed telecommunications equipment maker, out of business.
Relations between the two countries, which has become tense because of a potential trade war, are now at a crossroads, the ministry said.
“We hope the US doesn’t go against the flow,” ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. “If the US policy is based on all kinds of possible nonsense, it is extremely irresponsible and extremely dangerous.”
Why ZTE ban might be the best thing ever for China’s chip ambition
That ban has not only become the latest flashpoint between the world’s two largest economies, it also exposed the soft underbelly of China’s hi-tech ambitions: a dependence on advanced US technology, especially semiconductors.