The Trump administration has told Congress it's reached a deal that would allow Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE Corp. to stay in business, said a source familiar with the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential matter.
Under the agreement, ZTE will oust its management team, hire American compliance officers and pay a fine on top of $1 billion it's already paid for selling equipment to North Korea and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
In return, the US Commerce Department will lift a seven-year ban on ZTE buying components from US companies. The ban, imposed earlier this month, threatened to put ZTE out of business.
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York criticized the reported deal: "President Trump would be helping make China great again.