Hong Kong (CNN Business) US President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of easing restrictions on Huawei as part of a broader trade deal with Beijing, despite labeling the Chinese telecommunications giant "very dangerous."

The comments, which appear to run counter to Washington's hardline policy on Huawei, come just a week after the US Department of Commerce placed the company on a trade blacklist , effectively barring it from conducting business with US companies.

"Huawei is something that's very dangerous" from a security standpoint, Trump told reporters Thursday.

But then he floated the idea of using the Chinese tech firm as leverage in the ongoing trade negotiations with China.

"It's possible that Huawei even would be included in some kind of trade deal," Trump said. "If we made a deal, I can imagine Huawei being included in some form of, some part of a trade deal."