CCTV criticizes ZTE for being banned: The United States has used the question to play a real hammer

Recently, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the adoption of export control measures for ZTE Corporation. There is a question here. We must make it clear whether the United States wants to block ZTE, or does it point to China's telecommunications equipment manufacturers?

The United States blocked the use of the real hammer

The United States previously sanctioned ZTE on the grounds that ZTE sold US technology to Iran. The two parties later reached a settlement. However, ZTE needs to pay criminal and civil penalties of approximately US$890 million. This time, the reason why the United States blocked ZTE was that it did not strictly implement the settlement agreement. It only fired four senior employees and did not penalize or reduce the bonus of 35 employees. This is the so-called "real hammer."

In theory, China is not an American allies, and it is not the Cold War era. Chinese companies are not obliged to implement the US resolution. However, the strength of the United States is a reality that many large companies have to consider, and many companies that have reached so-called "reconciliation" with the United States are suffering from an unlucky situation.

Compared with ZTE’s sanctions, a similar example is that in the mid-1980s, the United States imposed a three-year ban on Toshiba’s export of CNC machine tools to the Soviet Union and prevented Toshiba Machine’s products from entering the US market. The reconciliation plan between ZTE and the United States was to pay a huge fine. Toshiba shared with the U.S. some technologies in the military industry for the cooperation of the two sides to develop new fighter jets. Judging from the Toshiba incident, sanctions are the means by which the United States obtains benefits in accordance with its established rules, because at that time, the United States considered itself to have fallen behind Japan in the fields of semiconductor technology, optical fiber technology, and intelligent mechanical technology. So, isn't the ZTE incident the same? At least it can be said that if the issue is played, real hammer is not true.

Even according to the agreement between the US and ZTE, the United States has better, more reasonable, and more appropriate measures. The Chinese side has noticed that the U.S. Department of Commerce has announced measures for export control of ZTE Corporation. A spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce of China stated that China has consistently required Chinese companies to abide by the laws and policies of the host country in the course of overseas operations and to conduct operations legally and in compliance with regulations. It is hoped that the United States will properly handle the matter in accordance with regulations, and create a just, fair and stable legal and policy environment for the enterprise. The reason why the Chinese side reminds the US that it is in accordance with regulations is that the US has made too much fuss over this issue and borrowed money.

U.S. Sanction Scale Unusually Blocked Another Purpose behind ZTE?

It is reported that ZTE has started to confirm whether each production process, supply chain department, or other activities currently underway involves the production of American products. At the same time, it is applying to the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide explanatory guidance on the partial prohibition of passwords. As far as companies are concerned, this is a very pragmatic attitude and it is hoped that the problems will be resolved as soon as possible. However, the position of the Ministry of Commerce “paying close attention to the progress of events” is also very important. We must be ready to take necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. Because behind the ZTE incident is not simple.

△ April 17, 2018, Shanghai, ZTE Communication Building (Photo/Visual China) April 17, 2018, Shanghai, ZTE Communications Building (Photo/Visual China)

ZTE has 25%-30% of its components from U.S. suppliers, but the most core parts depend on U.S. suppliers. ZTE's mobile phone chips, baseband chips, radio frequency chips, memory chips, mobile phone glass, and optical components are all from technology giants such as Qualcomm, Broadcom, Intel, Micron, Oracle, and Corning in the United States. They cannot find the same in the short term. Competitive alternative products. Among the core components of ZTE's communications equipment, some of its base stations are 100% from US companies, and ZTE has 1-2 months of stocking. Failure to reach a settlement with the US at this time will affect the production of ZTE's equipment. This will have an impact on the telecommunication industry, especially the construction of China's operator networks. This is a question that we must ask. Does the United States stop ZTE or point to China's telecommunications equipment manufacturers? It even points to the development of China's telecommunications industry because the scale of US sanctions is too abnormal and even exceeds ZTE's cooperation in the United States. Partner's imagination.

ZTE Corporation has conducted extensive trade and investment cooperation with hundreds of U.S. companies and contributed tens of thousands of jobs to the United States. The U.S. act has aroused general concerns about the U.S. trade and investment environment. The U.S. side faces China, but ultimately hurts the U.S. itself. It will not only lose tens of thousands of jobs but also affect hundreds of thousands. The affiliates of the United States will shake the confidence of the international community in U.S. investment and the stability of the business environment.

We will pay close attention to the ZTE incident, but the United States does not care about the interests of its own companies, which really makes us shudder. At the same time, it also makes us more aware of the need to increase our own R&D determination and accelerate the pace of core technological breakthroughs.