U.S. Department of Commerce on Monday suspended an export control settlement deal with Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corporation.

“U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has imposed a denial of export privileges against Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation (ZTE Corp.), of Shenzhen, China,” it said in a statement.

In response to the decision, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOC) urged the United States to create fair, just, and stable legal and policy environment for Chinese firms.

ZTE said in a statement that it is aware of the export-denial-order activated by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“At present, the company is assessing the full range of potential implications that this event has on the company and is communicating with relevant parties proactively in order to respond accordingly,” ZTE said.

In March last year, the company reached settlements with U.S. authorities over U.S. export controls and sanctions charges.

ZTE agreed to pay a criminal and civil penalty of US$892 million and an additional penalty of US$300 million, which will be suspended during a seven-year probationary period to deter future violations.

At that time, the U.S. Department of Commerce recommended ZTE be removed from the Entity List under the Export Administration Regulations. But it will be subject to ZTE’s compliance with the settlements during the seven-year probation period.

In Monday’s statement, the U.S. Department of Commerce claimed that ZTE made false statements regarding supervision of its staff and senior management, so it decided to suspend the export privileges of ZTE for a period of seven years until March 13, 2025. This decision suggests that ZTE could be unable to import high-tech components from the United States in these years.

Based in Shenzhen, ZTE is a leading global provider of telecom equipment and networking solutions, and one of the world’s fastest growing smartphone manufacturers.

ZTE has 14 offices and six research centers in the United States and supports nearly 130,000 high-tech jobs in the country.

Also yesterday, the MOC announced that it will impose provisional anti-dumping measures on grain sorghum imported from the United States, saying U.S. companies had dumped grain sorghum on the Chinese market, and such imports had caused substantial damage to the domestic industry.

Starting today, importers of the product will be required to pay deposits to Chinese customs calculated based on a rate of 178.6 percent.

Data from the MOC showed U.S. sorghum exports to China surged from 317,000 tons in 2013 to 4.76 million tons in 2017, while export prices slumped 31 percent during the period.(Xinhua)