Trump meets with top US tech leaders to discuss sales to Huawei as he moves to soften restrictions against the Chinese tech giant

ALEX EDELMAN/AFP/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump talks to reporters prior to boarding Marine One as he departs the White House in Washington, DC on December 8, 2018.

• President Donald Trump met with executives of top US tech companies on Monday - including Google, Intel, and Qualcomm - to discuss restrictions against sales to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.
• The meeting between Trump and top tier tech leaders comes as the US continues to shift its policy regarding Huawei, the largest telecommunications equipment producer in the world, which has been thrust into the center of trade war negotiations between China and the US.
• The Trump administration previously raised concerns that Huawei technology could pose a national security risk and placed the Chinese company on a trade blacklist.
• But tensions between Huawei and the Trump administration have eased in recent weeks following a meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, in which Trump agreed to hold off on additional tariffs on Chinese goods and pledged reprieve for Huawei.
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President Donald Trump on Monday met with executives of seven top US tech companies to discuss "a range of economic issues," including national security restrictions against sales to Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei.

Trump sat down with leaders from Google, Cisco, Intel, Qualcomm, Micron, Broadcom, and Western Digital Corporation - all top producers of US technology equipment - to discuss treatment of the Chinese technology company, according to the White House.

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"The CEOs expressed strong support of the president's policies, including national security restrictions on United States telecom equipment purchases and sales to Huawei," the White House said in a statement. "They requested timely licensing decisions from the Department of Commerce, and the president agreed."

The meeting between Trump and top tier tech leaders comes as the US continues to shift its policy regarding Huawei, the largest telecommunications equipment producer in the world, which has been thrust into the center of trade war negotiations between China and the US.

Read more: Mnuchin urges US suppliers to seek approval to resume selling to blacklisted Huawei, new report claims

The Trump administration previously raised concerns that Huawei technology could pose a national security risk and may be used as a backdoor for Chinese government espionage. Other nations, including Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, have also considered that Huawei tech might pose a security risk and have prevented Huawei from using its technology in "sensitive" parts of its telecommunications systems.

The US Department of Commerce added Huawei to a trade blacklist in May, which prevents the company from buying parts and components from American companies without US government approval. The move could have a dramatic effect on Huawei's operations, as the company relies heavily on US parts.

The placement of Huawei on the US trade blacklist has led to many major US tech companies and suppliers - including Google- to stop providing critical software to the company.

But tensions between Huawei and the Trump administration have eased in recent weeks following a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, last month.

Following the meeting, Trump agreed to hold off on additional tariffs on Chinese goods and discussed the clampdown on Huawei.

"US companies can sell their equipment to Huawei ... there's no great, national emergency problem," Trump told reporters after his meeting.

Read more: Here are all the big companies that have cut ties with Huawei, dealing the Chinese tech giant a crushing blow

Earlier this month, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced an easing of restrictions against the Chinese company in line with Trump's statements after the G20 summit, stating that the US would issue licenses to US companies looking to sell to Huawei as long as it does not pose a threat to national security.

Despite this apparent relaxing of restrictions, Huawei still remains on the US trade blacklist, a sign that the US remains cautious as it moves to improve its trade relations with China.

Early on Monday, The Washington Post published a report saying that according to documents Huawei, "secretly helped the North Korean government build and maintain the country's commercial wireless network," an allegation which Huawei denies.