特朗普对华态度画风急转 中兴重获一线生机

President Donald Trump said he was working with Chinese President Xi Jinping to keep ZTE Corp. in business, throwing an extraordinary lifeline to the Chinese telecommunication giant that has been laid low by U.S. moves to cut off its suppliers.

美国总统特朗普称，他正与中国国家主席习近平共同努力，帮助中兴通讯股份有限公司(简称：中兴通讯)恢复运营。特朗普此举让此前因美国销售禁令备受打击的中兴通讯重获一线生机。

The surprise intervention comes less than a month after ZTE was hit with an order banning U.S. companies from selling components to the Chinese business. The U.S. Commerce Department directed companies to stop exporting to ZTE in mid-April, saying the Chinese firm violated the terms of a settlement resolving evasion of U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

就在特朗普这一意外介入不到一个月前，美国发出禁止本国企业向中兴通讯销售零部件的禁令，致使中兴通讯遭到冲击。美国商务部在4月中旬命令本国企业停止向中兴通讯出口产品，理由是中兴通讯在规避美国对伊对朝制裁措施后违反了协议中的条款。

Mr. Trump said in a tweet that he is working with Mr. Xi to get ZTE “a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost.” He said the Commerce Department has been instructed to “get it done!”

特朗普在推文中表示，他正与习近平共同努力，让中兴通讯迅速恢复业务，因为中国有很多人因此失业。他称，已指示美国商务部“尽快完成”相关工作。

Mr. Trump’s comments about the company and concern about Chinese jobs come as the U.S. and China are locked in high-stakes negotiations over trade and intellectual property. Both countries are threatening to slap tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of the other’s products. Mr. Trump has regularly blamed China for U.S. job losses and Beijing’s policies for the U.S. trade deficit, making his shift in tone notable.

特朗普关于中兴通讯的表态以及对中国就业岗位的关切，正值美中就贸易和知识产权问题展开重要谈判之际。两国互相威胁要对对方价值数以百亿计美元商品征收高额关税。特朗普常把美国就业岗位流失和美中贸易逆差归咎于中国，因此他的这一态度转变非常引人注意。

U.S. concerns about ZTE go beyond its evasion of sanctions. For years, the U.S. has accused equipment made by Shenzhen-based ZTE and its larger crosstown rival Huawei Technologies Co. of being a national security threat, an accusation that both companies have denied.

美国对中兴通讯的担忧并不仅限于其规避制裁。过去几年中，美国已指责总部位于深圳的中兴通讯及其同城竞争对手华为技术有限公司制造的设备构成国家安全威胁。两家公司均予以否认。

Some Wall Street observers have speculated that the administration hoped to use the ZTE sanctions as leverage to soften Chinese resistance in other trade negotiations. One possible indication of that was the Commerce Department’s failure to impose about $300 million in fines it was eligible to collect when it announced the penalties on ZTE earlier this year.

一些华尔街观察人士猜测，特朗普政府希望将对中兴通讯的制裁作为在其他贸易谈判中迫使中国让步的筹码。其中的一个可能迹象是，在今年早些时候宣布对中兴通讯进行处罚时，美国商务部原本可以要求该公司缴纳约3亿美元罚款，但该部门当时并未对中兴通讯进行罚款。

The Commerce Department also has signaled in recent days that it was trying to expedite ZTE’s appeal, suggesting the agency was sensitive to the urgency of ZTE’s situation.

美国商务部最近几天还释放出了正加快处理中兴通讯申诉的信号，这表明该部门对中兴通讯处境的紧迫性是敏感的。

The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that in its efforts to have the ban stayed, ZTE has told U.S. authorities that process and human-resource errors, not a plan of systematic deception, were responsible for the lapses in fully complying with its 2017 settlement, according to a person familiar with the matter. The company also believes that the ban is a disproportionate penalty, this person said.

据《华尔街日报》(The Wall Street Journal)上周六报道，一名知情人士称，为了让美方中止禁令，中兴通讯曾对美国有关部门表示，该公司未全面遵守2017年和解协议的原因在于相关流程和人力资源方面的失误，而非有意的、系统性的欺骗。这名人士说，中兴通讯还认为，这项禁令对公司而言是一个不成比例的惩罚。

The sudden sales ban placed ZTE at the sharp end of a rising trade dispute between Washington and Beijing that has included tit-for-tat tariffs. Technology has become a focus of tensions, with the U.S. accusing China of transferring key technologies back home and unfairly supporting domestic champions.

突如其来的销售禁令将中兴通讯置于美中贸易争端的风口浪尖上；在这场争端中，两国都曾威胁实施针锋相对的关税措施。技术问题已经成为争执的焦点，美方谴责中国将关键技术转移到本国，并向国内的龙头企业提供有失公允的支持。

ZTE employs roughly 75,000 people world-wide and is the fourth-largest mobile phone vendor in the U.S., selling 19 million phones in America last year, making it the firm’s biggest market.

中兴通讯在全球拥有约7.5万名员工，手机销量在美国排名第四。该公司去年在美国的手机销量为1,900万部，美国已成为该公司的第一大市场。

Backed by the Chinese government as a tech national champion, ZTE works alongside Huawei in the race to develop next-generation 5G wireless technology—an area in which Qualcomm is viewed by Washington as a crucial U.S. competitor.

中兴通讯被视为中国的科技栋梁企业，受到中国政府的重视。该公司正与华为合作开发5G无线通信技术，美国政府则将高通视为美国在这一领域的重要竞争对手。