ZTE chairman appeals for calm amid US parts ban ‘crisis’
ZTE has been plunged into what its chairman calls a state of crisis after the US banned American firms from selling parts to the Chinese telecommunications company for seven years
ZTE chairman Yin Yimin issued a call for calm to employees after the US government banned American firms from selling parts to the Chinese telecommunications equipment giant for seven years, a move that could wreck its plans to build everything from smartphones to gear for enabling 5G networks.
“The company takes the US ban seriously and has immediately set up a crisis team, with every division analysing and coming up with measures to deal with the crisis,” Yin said in an internal memo to employees seen by the South China Morning Post. “We need the combined strength of ZTE’s 80,000-strong staff in this tough time. I would like to appeal to all employees to maintain a state of calm, to man one’s post and do one’s job well. The company is actively communicating and giving its all to resolve this crisis.”
The US government banned sales by American companies to China’s ZTE Corp to punish the Chinese telco equipment maker for paying full bonuses to employees who engaged in the illegal sales of equipment to Iran, for failing to issue letters of reprimand to those employees, and then lying about it to US authorities.
The move, which also dragged down shares of some of its suppliers, reactivates a block on ZTE’s exports and all sales to the company by US suppliers for seven years. To add to the woes, the Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has written to UK telecoms providers warning them that the use of ZTE's equipment and services could pose a national security risk, the BBC reported.
