US President may lift sales ban on China's ZTE

The US administration is also working on the details of the deal with ZTE, while it considers lifting a seven-year ban prohibiting companies from selling hardware and software to the Chinese giant, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported late Monday.

The move, which has raised concerns that the US might be using the ZTE issue as a bargaining chip in its ongoing negotiations with China, comes as part of the provisional agreement between Washington and Beijing, to settle disputes regarding ZTE.

In the same vein, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed to lift tariffs on US farm products within the framework of negotiations, the WSJ said.

It is worth noting that the US Department of Commerce issued the ban after ZTE violated US sanctions on Iran and North Korea by illegally shipping US goods to them, while the ban was widely expected to lead the Shenzen-based company into bankruptcy.