The prospect of dropping criminal charges against Huawei is likely to anger both Republicans and Democrats who have warned the company could be used as a spying tool for the Chinese government. | Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty Images technology Trump says Huawei charges on the table in China trade talks This isn't the first time Trump has used penalties on a Chinese company as a tool to advance his trade agenda.

President Donald Trump on Friday suggested that criminal charges against Chinese telecom giant Huawei and one of its top executives could be used as a bargaining chip in his administration's ongoing trade negotiations with China.

“We’re going to be discussing all of that during the course of the next couple of weeks," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We’ll be talking to the U.S. attorneys. We’ll be talking to the attorney general. We’ll be making that decision. Right now, it’s not something we’ve discussed."


Chinese officials have been in Washington this week trying to hammer out a deal that would eliminate the tariffs Trump has imposed on billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports.

In January, the Justice Department accused Huawei and its chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and stealing intellectual property from U.S. companies. Meng, the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, is residing in Vancouver while the Canadian government decides whether to authorize her extradition to the U.S.

The prospect of the U.S. retreating on Huawei drew swift pushback from lawmakers of both parties who have repeatedly warned the company could be used as a spying tool for the Chinese government. Huawei is the world's largest provider of telecommunications equipment, and U.S. officials have been crossing the globe warning other countries to steer clear of Huawei and another Chinese telecom firm, ZTE.

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“Huawei and ZTE pose a serious national security threat," Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said in a statement following Trump's comments. "They’re Trojan Horses for the Chinese Communist Party, and the free world should stand together in blocking them from our critical infrastructure.”

“It would be a major mistake for President Trump to agree to any deal that fails to hold China accountable for its trade abuses and theft of American intellectual property," said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.).

This isn't the first time Trump has used penalties on a Chinese company as a tool to advance his trade agenda. Last year, the administration lifted a ban on ZTE for violating sanctions against Iran, after Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping wanted a solution.

"President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!" Trump tweeted in May.

Republicans and Democrats criticized the administration's decision on ZTE, saying it put Trump's trade agenda above national security concerns. But Trump has touted the deal to lift the ban on ZTE in return for the company paying a $1 billion fine and replacing its management team.

The Trump administration has separately been considering an executive order that would impose harsh penalties on Huawei, POLITICO and other media outlets have reported, but the president said Friday that he would prefer not to block Chinese companies from the U.S. market.

"I want competition with China, fair competition. I don't want to block out anybody if we can help it," Trump said. "Now, if there's going to be a security reason or something that we have no choice. But that is one of the things we'll be discussing today. We want to have open competition. We've always done very well in open competition."

Canada's relationship with China, a key trading partner, has been poisoned by Meng's arrest. Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei called it "politically motivated," and the Chinese government has pressured Canada to release her immediately.

A senior adviser to the Chinese Communist Party predicted this week that Meng's arrest could be linked to the trade talks and that she could be released from house arrest as early as April, the South China Morning Post reported.

John Hendel and Alex Panetta contributed to this report.