President Donald Trump said the U.S. is reconsidering penalties against Chinese telecommunications maker ZTE Corp. as a favor to the country’s president, Xi Jinping, prompting members of Congress to warn him against softening the punishment.
“The president asked me to look into that and I am doing it,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. Asked about the company, he said there is no deal yet with China -- but it was not clear whether he was speaking specifically about ZTE or about broader trade disputes.