EXCLUSIVE | Trump Pauses China Tech Curbs Ahead of Xi Summit

Why It Matters

It illustrates how diplomatic priorities can supersede national‑security safeguards, reshaping the U.S. tech supply‑chain risk landscape.

Key Takeaways

• Trump pauses China tech bans before April summit
• Measures include telecom, data‑center, router, EV restrictions
• Pause follows October trade truce, seeks Beijing goodwill
• Critics warn increased vulnerability in US AI infrastructure
• Commerce may revive bans if relations sour

Pulse Analysis

The United States is navigating a delicate balance between safeguarding its digital infrastructure and maintaining diplomatic momentum with Beijing. After an October trade truce eased tensions, the administration chose to pause a series of hard‑line tech curbs—ranging from telecom bans to restrictions on routers and electric vehicles—just weeks before President Trump’s scheduled visit to China. This move signals a willingness to prioritize high‑level dialogue over immediate security actions, a pattern seen in previous trade negotiations where concessions were exchanged for broader strategic stability.

National‑security experts warn that the deferment could deepen vulnerabilities in a sector experiencing explosive growth. U.S. data‑centre capacity is projected to surge by nearly 120% by 2030, fueling demand for hardware that often originates from Chinese manufacturers. With AI workloads expanding, any reliance on equipment that could be compromised raises concerns about covert access, intellectual‑property theft, and potential sabotage of critical infrastructure. The pause also intersects with broader supply‑chain issues, such as China’s pledge to delay rare‑earth export restrictions, further intertwining economic leverage with security considerations.

Looking ahead, the future of these measures hinges on the outcome of the April summit and the evolving political calculus in Washington. Should relations sour, Commerce officials like the incoming Katelyn Christ may resurrect the shelved bans, reinstating pressure on Chinese tech firms. Meanwhile, companies such as TP‑Link are positioning themselves as domestically controlled to mitigate regulatory risk. For industry stakeholders, the episode underscores the importance of diversifying supply sources and preparing for rapid policy shifts that can impact investment, procurement, and compliance strategies.

EXCLUSIVE | Trump pauses China tech curbs ahead of Xi summit

By Alexandra Alper

Washington — The Trump administration has shelved a number of key tech security measures aimed at Beijing ahead of an April meeting between the two countries’ presidents.

The measures include a ban on China Telecom’s US operations and restrictions on sales of Chinese equipment for US data centres, sources said.

The US has also put on hold proposed bans on domestic sales of routers made by TP‑Link and the US internet business of China Unicom and China Mobile, along with another measure that would bar sales of Chinese electric trucks and buses in the US, four people said, declining to be named.

Those decisions have not previously been reported. They are the latest moves by the Trump administration to rein in US government actions that could antagonise Beijing following a trade truce reached by China’s Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump in October, the sources said.

Security risks

That meeting also included a pledge by the Chinese to delay painful export restrictions on the rare‑earth minerals that underpin tech manufacturing globally.

The commerce department defended its actions, saying it is actively using its authorities to “address national security risks from foreign technology, and we will continue to do so”.

While the administration’s actions are likely aimed at helping to defuse trade tensions related to Trump’s costly trade war, some critics say they also leave US data centres and other technology vulnerable to Chinese threats as data centre construction surges to meet exploding demand for AI.

“At a moment when we are desperately trying to remove ourselves from Beijing’s leverage over rare‑earth supply chains, it is ironic that we’re actually letting Beijing acquire new areas of leverage over the US economy — in telecoms infrastructure, in data centres and AI, and in EVs,” said Matt Pottinger, who served as deputy national security adviser during Trump’s first term.

The Chinese Embassy said Beijing opposes “turning trade and technological issues into political weapons” while welcoming US co‑operation with China that could make 2026 “a year where our two major countries advance toward mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win‑win co‑operation.”

TP‑Link Systems Inc, a California‑based company that was spun off from a Chinese firm in 2024, emphasised that it is an independently owned American company “with US‑managed software, US‑hosted data, and security practices that meet US industry standards”.

“Any suggestion that we are subject to foreign control or pose a national security risk is categorically false,” it added.

The White House and Chinese state‑owned telecom giants China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom did not respond to requests for comment about the measures and why they are on hold.

Trump plans to visit Beijing in April and has invited Xi to visit the US later in the year. All the measures that the administration has now paused were initially aimed at keeping Beijing from accessing and exploiting sensitive American data for blackmail or intellectual property theft and positioning itself deep within internet‑connected systems to sabotage critical infrastructure, two of the sources said.

Throughout much of last year, commerce undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler dragged his heels on advancing the measures, citing the need to get buy‑in from the White House and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, two of the people said. The commerce department and Kessler did not respond to requests for comment on this description.

But after the October trade truce, leadership instructed staffers in the office charged with policing foreign tech threats to “focus on Iran and Russia,” two of the sources said.

Iran is not viewed as a tech threat on par with China or Russia. Commerce did not comment on questions about its shift in focus. Last month, the commerce department ousted the woman charged with leading the office.

She will be replaced by Katelyn Christ, a political appointee with experience at the office, two sources said. Christ could potentially revive some of the measures if relations with China sour following the April summit between Trump and Xi, one of them added. Christ and commerce did not comment.

Energy backbone

But some China hawks say such measures cannot wait. US data centre capacity is expected to grow by nearly 120 % by 2030, according to global real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

David Feith, who served in Trump’s first and second administrations, described Chinese‑linked data centre hardware as a growing national security threat and urged action to address it.

American data centres could become “remotely controlled islands of Chinese digital sovereignty” as the US quietly builds “strategic vulnerabilities into our AI and energy backbone,” he said.

Wendy Cutler, a former acting deputy US trade representative, now with the Asia Society Policy Institute, said it stands to reason that the administration would shelve punitive tech measures as it seeks “stabilisation” with China.

“The Chinese have made it very clear that stabilisation in their mind means no more export controls and other restrictive tech measures… so particularly in the lead‑up to the April visit to China, I would not expect the issuance of more… controls,” she said, emphasising China’s potent threat of fresh curbs on rare‑earth mineral exports.

“Not only does it have leverage, but it is willing to use it. It ties the president’s hands,” she added.

Router sales

TP‑Link contacted the commerce department last year with suggestions for ways it could address national security concerns, two sources said, clearing the path for a less restrictive regulation of its US router sales.

In response to Reuters’ questions about the measure targeting its technology, the company said its routers are not uniquely targeted for cyberattacks and that its code has been rigorously tested by US‑based experts to prevent the use of covert methods to bypass security controls.

The company also said it has “fully co‑operated with the commerce department” and does not comment on the “specifics of a government investigation”.