Donald Trump now wants to save ZTE and everyone's confused

Chinese smartphone maker ZTE might have found a savior, and it's the last person you'd expect.

President Donald Trump says he now wants to help save the beleaguered handset maker, tweeting Sunday that he wanted to give the company "a way to get back into business, fast."

The president said he is working with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the U.S Commerce Department, which "has been instructed to get it done."

While it's not surprising that Trump would announce his support for such a move on Twitter, the fact that he's so forcefully supporting ZTE in the first place raises eyebrows for a number of reasons.

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A bit of background: ZTE is one of the largest smartphone makers in China, where the company employs 75,000, according to The New York Times. Unlike many other Chinese smartphone makers, ZTE's Android phones are also popular in the U.S, thanks to low-cost phones and savvy marketing ploys (the company's sponsored five NBA teams, including the Golden State Warriors).

But the company's run into problems in the U.S in recent years. American intelligence agencies have accused the firm of using its phones to spy on Americans. ZTE has denied the charges, but the accusation nevertheless led to some major carriers dropping the manufacturer (Chinese company Huawei has been hit with similar claims too).

Adding to tensions, the company was slapped with a $1.2 billion fine last year after the U.S government discovered it was doing business with North Korea and Iran. The company paid the settlement, but was also supposed to sanction its executives over the issue. Those mandated reprimands never happened and it was this that triggered the Department of Commerce's move last month to officially ban U.S exports to the company.

Since ZTE relies on components manufactured in America, the export ban was likely to have a devastating effect on the company.

Which brings us back to Trump. That he would be so supportive of a company which his own government fined for doing business with Iran is, well, confusing as hell.

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The fact that he cited concern over losing Chinese jobs, also didn't go over well, considering he repeatedly railed against U.S jobs being outsourced to China during his presidential campaign,

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The whole thing led many to speculate about whether or not Trump had another reason for his sudden about-face on ZTE.

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In another tweet, posted later Sunday afternoon, Trump said "China and the United States are working well together on trade," adding "be cool, it will all work out."

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