HONG KONG (AP) - President Donald Trump injected fresh uncertainty into planned trade talks between U.S. and Chinese officials this week with his weekend social media musings that hinted at possibly easing up on sanctions for China's ZTE.

Here's a closer look at the issues:

WHAT IS ZTE?: It's a partially state-owned company based in the southern Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen, next door to Hong Kong, that makes cellphones and network switching and other telecommunications equipment. Last month, the U.S. Commerce Department banned it from buying U.S. technology or products for seven years after it misled regulators by failing to discipline employees involved in illegal exports and paying them bonuses. ZTE Corp. pleaded guilty and was hit by a $1.19 billion fine after getting caught shipping cellular network equipment to Iran and North Korea in violation of U.S embargoes aimed at keeping sensitive technology away from hostile regimes. Last week, ZTE said it had suspended major business operations because the U.S. sanctions cut off supplies of needed components and technology.

In this May 8, 2018, photo, a woman pass by a ZTE building in Beijing, China. President Donald Trump's weekend social media musings about China injected new uncertainty into the Washington's punishment of Chinese tech giant ZTE and planned trade talks between the two countries. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

TRUMP TWEETS: Catching many by surprise, on Sunday Trump tweeted that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping "are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost." Trump said the Commerce Department was told to "get it done!" Hours later he tweeted that the U.S. and China were working well together on trade but it would be hard to work out a deal beneficial to both sides because "past negotiations have been so one sided in favor of China, for so many years." bệnh viêm nhiễm phụ khoa và cách điều trị He added, "But be cool, it will all work out!"

TRADE TALKS, PART TWO: During China-U.S. trade talks in Beijing earlier this month, Chinese officials sought help from the U.S. delegation in getting the ban on doing business with ZTE lifted. Those talks made little apparent progress.