AI Analytics

SpyLedger dossier · Network / safe-city

ZTE Corporation

ZTE Corporation (Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation) is a Chinese multinational telecommunications-equipment and systems company headquartered in Shenzhen, China, founded in 1985 and listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges. It operates across three segments: carrier networks, government/enterprise, and consumer devices. An affiliated entity named alongside ZTE in US export-control actions is ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. The "surveillance equipment" framing is only partially supported: the FCC Covered List entry explicitly extends to "video surveillance services" provided by ZTE or using its equipment, but ZTE is primarily a carrier-network/telecom-infrastructure vendor rather than a dedicated surveillance specialist — hence the "network" silo.

Headquarters: China

Products

  • Carrier-network telecommunications equipment (wireless RAN, 5G base stations, optical transmission, switching/exchange systems)
  • Data communications and core network gear
  • Smartphones, tablets, mobile hotspots and CPE (consumer devices)
  • Government/enterprise ICT systems, including video surveillance and video conferencing services

Government designation status

1 active designation from the surveyed authorities. Each is a public government record with a different legal effect — read the type label and scope on each.

US FCCEquipment-authorization restrictionFCC Covered List (Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019; implementing Sec. 889(f)(3) of the John S. McCain NDAA FY2019, Pub. L. 115-232) · 2021-03-12

Covered equipment cannot receive new FCC authorization for certain purposes. It is not a sanction or asset freeze and does not ban all of the company’s products (e.g. FCC Covered List).

ZTE Corporation was placed on the FCC's first Covered List published March 12, 2021. Verified verbatim against the primary FCC source: the entry covers 'Telecommunications equipment produced or provided by ZTE Corporation, including telecommunications or video surveillance services provided by such entity or using such equipment,' and the list is read to include subsidiaries and affiliates. This is a communications-supply-chain / equipment-authorization measure: under the Secure Equipment Act of 2021 the FCC subsequently prohibited new equipment authorizations for listed gear, and federal universal-service funds may not be used to buy it. It is NOT an asset-blocking sanction and NOT an OFAC/BIS designation. The listing remains ACTIVE as of the most recent FCC update (January 2026).

FCC Public Notice DA-21-309: List of Equipment and Services Covered By Section 2 of the Secure Networks Act (released March 12, 2021)

No verifiable OFAC SDN listing, no US Treasury NS-CMIC (Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies) investment-restriction listing, and no EU consolidated sanctions listing were found for ZTE Corporation against authoritative sources as of June 2026. ZTE is NOT an asset-blocked or sanctioned party under OFAC. (Note for accuracy: OFAC entered a 2017 civil monetary settlement with ZTE for past sanctions/export violations, but that was a settlement of enforcement charges, not an SDN designation or asset block, so it is correctly excluded from the designations array.) The only currently ACTIVE US authoritative measure is the FCC Covered List placement (equipment-authorization / communications-supply-chain restriction, not a sanction). The two BIS export-control actions (2016 Entity List addition and 2018 Denial Order) are both historical and were formally REMOVED/TERMINATED — they are retained here for accuracy with explicit removal/termination dates and should not be presented as current restrictions. No customer/deployment claims and no personal data are included in this record.

Historical (no longer active)

US BISREMOVED — BIS Entity List (added 2016-03-08; removed effective 2017-03-29)2016-03-08

ZTE Corporation and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. were added to the BIS Entity List on March 8, 2016 over alleged re-export of US-origin items to sanctioned destinations (including Iran) via a shell-company scheme, triggering license requirements for exports/reexports/transfers of items subject to the EAR. A temporary general license (issued March 2016 and extended several times) largely restored normal licensing pending settlement. ZTE was REMOVED from the Entity List effective March 29, 2017 following settlement of administrative and criminal enforcement actions (Federal Register 2017-06227). This listing is no longer active — historical export-control measure only. Note: the same Federal Register rule separately added an individual (ZTE's former CEO) to the Entity List; that individual listing is NOT attributed to the ZTE corporate entity here.

Federal Register 2017-06227: Removal of Certain Persons From the Entity List; Addition of a Person to the Entity List; and EAR Conforming Change (effective March 29, 2017)

US BISREMOVED — BIS Denial Order / Denied Persons List (activated 2018-04-15; terminated July 2018)2018-04-15

On April 15, 2018 BIS activated a previously suspended seven-year denial of export privileges against Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation (ZTE) and ZTE Kangxun, placing them on the Denied Persons List after BIS found ZTE breached the 2017 settlement (false statements; failure to discipline employees). The order barred parties from supplying ZTE with US-origin items subject to the EAR. BIS then issued a superseding settlement; upon ZTE's full payment of a USD 1,000,000,000 penalty and placement of USD 400,000,000 in escrow (the suspended portion of a USD 1,761,000,000 civil penalty), BIS TERMINATED the April 15, 2018 denial order and removed ZTE from the Denied Persons List in July 2018 (Federal Register 2018-15633). No longer active — historical export-control measure only.

Federal Register 2018-15633: Order Terminating Denial Order Issued on April 15, 2018, Against Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. (July 23, 2018)

This dossier restates public government-designation records; it is not an allegation of wrongdoing by AI Analytics, and it publishes no customer-deployment claims or targeting data. A designation describes a specific legal action by a named authority — read its scope; an export control, an equipment-authorization restriction, and an asset-blocking sanction are not the same thing. To dispute or correct an entry, contact us (see the methodology). Status current as of the 2026-06-23 build — confirm against the linked primary source. Back to all vendors.