BEIJING—China’s antitrust regulator has approved Qualcomm Inc.’s joint venture with a unit of China’s state-owned Datang Telecom Technology Co. to design smartphone chipsets, people familiar with the matter said, a win for the U.S. chip maker amid escalating U.S.-China trade friction.
The proposed joint venture was announced a year ago, but only this week approved by China’s antitrust regulator, the people said.
The...