Qualcomm-NXP deal could be back on

The Chinese president would be open to approving the acquisition of NXP should Qualcomm propose again, according to the White House.

The American and Chinese presidents met during the G20 event in Argentina to cover an array of thorny issues. The White House press secretary’s statement on 1 December included the key points. On trade, “President Trump has agreed that on January 1, 2019, he will leave the tariffs on $200 billion worth of product at the 10% rate, and not raise it to 25% at this time.”

However, this is conditional on a few concessions from China, including substantial increased purchase of American products, and structural changes with respect to forced technology transfer, intellectual property protection, non-tariff barriers, cyber intrusions and cyber theft, services and agriculture. “If at the end of this period of time (90 days), the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the 10% tariffs will be raised to 25%”, the statement said.

The last point on the statement related to Qualcomm’s proposed acquisition of NXP.  The statement said “President Xi also stated that he is open to approving the previously unapproved Qualcomm-NXP deal should it again be presented to him.” The deal, after repeatedly missing extended deadlines, was called off in July after China had refused to approve it.

As is typical with meetings like this, each party has been trumpeting its own triumphs. Bloomberg compared how the results were communicated differently in the two countries’ official channels. The Qualcomm-NXP reconsideration, together with the 90-day deadline and a few other points, was not mentioned by the Chinese official media. In a more bizarre twist, the official translation of the White House statement produced by the American Embassy in China is said to have been blocked from sharing on WeChat, the popular social network in China.