US ZTE ban sparks Chinese to rally around company

The Chinese are now rallying around telecommunications company ZTE Corp. in response to a U.S. ban on sales of components to the Chinese company.

Chinese social media has seen an outpouring of support for ZTE, and the country’s newspapers have placed the blame on the company’s troubles on China’s dependence on imported conductors, according to Reuters.

The company, a leading seller of smartphones in the U.S., was banned last year from purchasing and using U.S.-made components for its phones for seven years after a federal court in Texas found the company guilty of selling phones to Iran. 

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One state-run Chinese newspaper, the Global Times, said in an article this week that the U.S. actions against ZTE are a cause for China to bolster its production of smartphone chips. On Wednesday, 19 stocks pertaining to semiconductor production skyrocketed, Reuters reports.

Online, a large number of people have shared a photo of a restaurant offering free meals to employees of the embattled company. And other social media posts have shown support for the company.

The outpouring of support for the Chinese phone giant comes as the U.S. and China are jabbing back and forth with new tariffs and economic sanctions.

Earlier this month, President Trump announced more than $50 billion in trade tariffs against China over reports of billions of dollars in losses to the U.S. economy due to the country’s theft of U.S. intellectual property.

In response, China’s Commerce Ministry announced $3 billion in targeted tariffs on a range of U.S. goods including agricultural produce and metals.