Chinese telecom giant ZTE has reassigned two senior executives as Beijing and Washington seek to hammer out a deal to save the embattled company.

The South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday that ZTE executive vice president and chief technology officer Xu Huijun and Huang Dabin, who oversees corporate operations, have been sidelined and are no longer performing their typical duties.

The company's chief compliance and legal official Cheng Gang was similarly replaced in March.

ADVERTISEMENT

The removals and reassignments are the result of a U.S. decision to ban American companies from supplying ZTE for seven years after allegations emerged that the telecom giant violated U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

The ban crippled the company, prompting it to announce earlier this month that it would cease major operations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping intervened on behalf of the company by lobbying President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE to ease restrictions on ZTE and help it get back into business.

Trump announced on Friday that he would allow ZTE to reopen "with high level security guarantees, change of management and board," and a guarantee that it will purchase U.S. components. He also said that he will impose a $1.3 billion fine on the company.