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President Trump Pledges To Help China's ZTE, After Ban (usatoday.com)

President Trump said Sunday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are working to put the troubled Chinese telecom manufacturer ZTE back in business. From a report: "President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast," Trump said in a message on Twitter. "Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!" ZTE, maker of Android phones popular with budget-minded consumers, said Wednesday that it would cease "major operating activities," raising questions not only about its survival, but the impact on U.S. consumers who have previously bought or were thinking of buying ZTE phones. The announcement followed a decision last month by the U.S. Commerce Department, which banned American companies from exporting products to the Shenzhen, China-based telecom firm for seven years.

19 of 230 comments (clear)

  1. MCGA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Really, how does this help America? It only makes me suspicious that Trump or some of his buddies want to swoop in and get the stock for pennies on the dollar.

    1. Re:MCGA? by 110010001000 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You must be kidding. Trump isn't out to help America. He is out to help himself. Morally and ethically bankrupt.

    2. Re: MCGA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Elect a clown, get a circus.

      Hire incompetent devs, get broken Unicode support.

      Some things never change.

    3. Re: MCGA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yep, he's really draining the swamp (by installing a pipeline leading directly to the Oval Office) and disrupting the status quo (by chucking grenades around randomly, forcing everyone to panic regardless of political alignment). #MAGA

    4. Re:MCGA? by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Really, how does this help America? It only makes me suspicious that Trump or some of his buddies want to swoop in and get the stock for pennies on the dollar.

      Yep, he probably bought up gazillions of shares last week when they collapsed. Now he's using his position as President to boost his personal retirement fund.

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    5. Re:MCGA? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Really, how does this help America? It only makes me suspicious that Trump or some of his buddies want to swoop in and get the stock for pennies on the dollar.

      Yep, he probably bought up gazillions of shares last week when they collapsed. Now he's using his position as President to boost his personal retirement fund.

      More likely, the last person who spoke with him (or a Fox News commentator) already owns a bunch of ZTE stock, was getting soaked and advised him to help out -- Headline to read: "Trump Saves Chinese Company" (ignoring why they needed saving)

      Trump doesn't read anything (longer than 140 characters, anyway), doesn't really know (or care to know) anything, has no moral compass, and has the attention span of a goldfish, so he's easily swayed by the last thing he hears. (I love to be proven wrong, but don't think I am)

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    6. Re:MCGA? by willy_me · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No, it is probably why China allowed him to register the "Trump" trade name right after being elected despite being denied for so many years. It is a decision that is quite easy to reverse. If this were about buying and selling stock there would be a paper trail and China (not Trump) is too smart for that.

      This is why sitting presidents should forgo all their business interests when taking on the position of president. Otherwise, it is impossible to not have conflicts of interest. There will always be the desire to work for oneself at the expense of the country they serve.

  2. WTF? by TiberiusKirk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Literally, What The Fuck?!!! He's a fucking buffoon with no coherent plan for anything.

    1. Re: WTF? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Good cop, bad cop doesn't work when its only one cop. Trump is playing both sides as if he has split personality disorder. Actually, it is his pathological lying that is the problem.

  3. ZTE knows the magic numbers... by MostAwesomeDude · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...specifically, the routing numbers for Michael Cohen's checking account~

    But seriously, did any money have to change hands, or is this just Trump showing his admiration for Xi's continuing march towards tyranny?

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  4. Smells like BS by fred911 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ZTE had been a major international producer long before entering the US market. I doubt elimination from the US market makes it insolvent by any means. Whereas the US market may have possibly been the most profitable, they didn't play nice and got kicked off the playground. Boohoo, wake up, they're just another arm of the party.

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  5. I don't know what's worse by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    the rampant corruption, the back pedaling on all his campaign promises (backed down on Carrier, supports Guest Worker programs & TPP, just gave Big Pharma a big present, filled his cabinet with Goldman Sach's folks that embody the swamp... I could go on) or the fact that no matter what his poll #s don't budge from 38-40%.

    The first year of this crap I could chalk up to the news cycle catching up with folks who don't watch politics. But at this point folks are sticking with him out of either stubbornness or a desire to see those "coastal elites" mad. That's some mighty fine face spiting right there, Lou.

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    1. Re:I don't know what's worse by whoever57 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I am convinced that Trump supporters will continue to support him, irrespective of what he does, as long as he enables their xenophobic and racist tendencies.

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      The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
  6. This makes no sense by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Let me be clear - I do not agree with Trump’s short-sighted and backwards-thinking trade war. But isn’t the whole point of a trade war to put the hurt on the companies and consumers based in the other country, which increases the pressure on the other government to make concessions?

    Trump is basically giving away his leverage - so instead of both countries being hurt by the trade war, now it’s Americans who’ll take the brunt of the pain. Good job, “master” deal maker.

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    1. Re:This makes no sense by squiggleslash · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The ZTE ban has little or nothing to do with any trade war. It's a straightforward consequence of the pre-existing sanctions against Iran. ZTE sold US technologies to Iran.

      Whether we should be sanctioning Iran, or trying to build a better relationship with them (they're horrible, but in some ways they're one of the least horrible regimes in that region - still, compared to Saudi Arabia, who isn't moderately better?) is another question. But it makes little sense to have sanctions and then say "Hey, it's OK, no biggie" when someone actually violates them.

      Also worth noting: ZTE is also implicated in some spyware stuff, that's bad enough to ensure ZTE phones are banned by the US military. It's not like a friendly company committed an oopsie.

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  7. Yes you do. by skam240 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "When there’s a detour because of road construction, do you continue to drive straight ahead at full speed, mowing down the road crew, because that was your original plan?"

    You do if the whole point of driving by the detour was to smash into the road crew.

    These sanctions were supposed to have the effect they are having on ZTE. They were supposed to hurt them a lot. Now he's reversing course because the sanctions actually worked? What type of example is that supposed to set for the future? "Sure, the US might put crippling sanctions on us over our actions but if we apologize they'll make it all better!"

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  8. Re:Makes sense! by MMC+Monster · · Score: 1, Insightful

    ZTE repeatedly violated the US sanctions against Iran, and lied to the government while in remediation. Now that the US has broken it's international agreement w/Iran & is threatening sanctions against our global partners who were also part of the agreement, the only logical 5d chess move is to get ZTE back in the business of selling security-compromised devices to Americans.

    I'm sorry, but the U. S. government's behavior is just getting schizophrenic.

    I can understand banning ZTE because it went against US sanctions.

    I can understand banning ZTE if there was evidence of Chinese backdoors in the hardware (even if it isn't released, if releasing the evidence may compromise US security issues).

    I can understand banning ZTE to help promote other non-Chinese brands, particularly US and allies brands.

    The only way trying to help ZTE makes any sense is if the US government finally realized the global supply chain involved and the loss of US jobs when a company like ZTE goes under. That being said, this is an awful time to do this, as the US is going to re-initiate sanctions against Iran.

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  9. Re:Makes sense! by Duds · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The giveaway here is that Breitbart have chosen to pretend it never happened. If even they can't spin it, you know he screwed up.

  10. Re:It's the whiplash with a touch of insider tradi by Kohath · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hint: Look for "sharp" investors who suddenly bought up a bunch of ZTE shares. In this case, we're back to the question of whether or not Trump got his own beak wet.

    ZTE stock has not traded since April 17th, when the ban was announced.

    Also, you should grow up and stop making up stories.