WASHINGTON—Lawmakers are moving to thwart Trump administration efforts to ease restrictions on Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE Corp. and other sensitive technology, citing fears the positions would compromise national security in the latest twist in trade negotiations between the world’s largest economies.
The Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved legislation on Tuesday that would tighten national-security reviews of Chinese technology deals by the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., strengthen export controls and prohibit the Trump administration from lifting stiff penalties imposed on ZTE.