US President Trump on the defense over reversal on China's ZTE ban - Reuters

The US' president, Donald Trump, is catching heat from both parties in the American Senate and found himself defending his stance reversal on Chinese telecommunications company ZTE on Monday, as reported by Reuters.

Key quotes

"President Donald Trump on Monday defended his decision to revisit penalties for Chinese company ZTE Corp for flouting U.S. sanctions on trade with Iran, saying the telecom maker is a big buyer for U.S. suppliers.

Trump, known for his fiery rhetoric against Chinese trade practices he says hurt U.S. jobs, faced backlash from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers after he pledged to work with Chinese President Xi Jinping to help ZTE, saying too many jobs in China had been lost.

The company shut its main operations after the Commerce Department banned U.S. companies from selling components to ZTE for seven years after it violated the terms of a settlement deal for illegally shipping goods made with U.S. parts to Iran and North Korea.