Chinese telecom giant ZTE has asked the US government to lift a ban on sales to the company, which threatens its survival and has added to trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.

The telecom equipment and handset maker said in a filing Sunday that it had submitted a request to the commerce department for a stay of the export ban, along with supplemental information.

US officials imposed the ban because of what they said were false statements by the firm over action 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.

The ban prohibits US companies from selling crucial hardware and software components to ZTE for seven years, with one Chinese investment bank estimating it had only one or two months' supply of those items on hand.

Trading of ZTE shares in Hong Kong and Shenzhen has been halted since the US announcement last month.

The tough sanctions come as the battle over technology takes centre stage in a US spat with China centring on trade and industrial policy.

Washington's control of the company's fate has stirred ire and angst in China and reinforced for Beijing the need to control all parts of the technological supply chain.

Separately, US ally Taiwan announced last month that its companies needed to obtain export permits to ship "strategic high-tech commodities" to ZTE.

"The purpose is to check the products are not meant for developing military weapon purposes," said an official with Taiwan's Bureau of Foreign Trade, who declined to be named, adding the extra precaution is in line with UN sanctions against Iran.

Last week, a Taiwan-based semiconductor firm, Mediatek, received a permit to export to ZTE, the official said.

Beijing has been closely following the developments around ZTE, a company with 80,000 employees headquartered in southern China.

Chinese officials asked a high-level US delegation to reconsider the ban during trade talks in Beijing last week.

China made "solemn representations with the US" -- an official diplomatic protest -- during the negotiations and secured a pledge from the trade team to relay the concerns to US President Donald Trump, China's commerce ministry said in a statement Friday.

Related Links
Cyberwar - Internet Security News - Systems and Policy Issues

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Space photons bring a new dimension to cryptography
Paris (ESA) May 04, 2018
ESA and its partners will investigate how satellites can distribute photon 'keys' to help secure encryption. Yesterday, ESA signed a contract with SES Techcom S.A. (LU) to develop QUARTZ (Quantum Cryptography Telecommunication System): a platform for quantum key distribution - a next-generation form of cryptography - and administer it from space. Classic cryptography, as used in World War II, concealed messages with ciphering codes and encryption keys generated by hand or early machinery. Me ... read more