For those who came in late, Trump is currently engaging in a trade war against China and his administration has been targeting  successful Asian mobile phone makers like ZTE and Huawei.

ZTE, the maker of Android phones popular with budget-minded punters, said last week that it would cease “major operating activities”, raising questions not only about its survival, but the impact on US consumers who have previously bought or were thinking of buying ZTE phones.

The announcement followed a decision last month by the US Commerce Department, which banned American companies from exporting products to the Shenzhen, China-based telecom firm for seven years.

The US government accused ZTE of violating a March 2017 settlement in which the firm pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.19 billion for illegally shipping telecommunications equipment to Iran and North Korea.

Trump said Sunday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are working to put the troubled Chinese telecom manufacturer ZTE back in business.

“President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into the business, fast,” Trump said in a message on Twitter. “Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done.”

"But be cool, it will all work out!" he wrote.

ZTE warned that the ban would “severely impact the survival and development of ZTE” and cause damages to all its partners, including many US companies.