Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies has reportedly agreed to “private mediation” in one of the two lawsuits it brought against US carrier Verizon over patent royalties, in what could be a positive development in the Chinese firm’s troubled standing in the US.

At the height of the US government’s crackdown campaign last year, Huawei sued Verizon after the two companies couldn’t reach an agreement on fees for Huawei’s patent. But the two firms have agreed to “private mediation,” where a mediator could help both sides come to an agreement, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing court documents.

The Shenzhen-based company declined to comment on the news report, when reached by the Global Times on Tuesday night.

In the lawsuits filed in Texas, Huawei alleges Verizon infringed on 12 of its patents certified by the US and reportedly demanded compensation of $1 billion from the US company.

In agreeing to private mediation, Huawei could be “sending a goodwill gesture” as it watches for signs of changes to the US sanctions under the Biden administration, said Jiang Junmu, chief writer at Chinese telecom industry news website c114.com.cn who follows Huawei closely.

Under former President Donald Trump, the US unleashed a frenzy of sanctions against Huawei, including moves to completely cut off supplies of smartphone chips to the Chinese firm.

While maintaining a broad tough line against China and vowing to consult allies, Biden and his cabinet members have not made any concrete moves or announced plans on policies toward China, including Huawei sanctions.

Last week, Biden’s pick for Commerce secretary Gina Raimondo did not say she would continue Trump administration’s punishing bans on Huawei, prompting a backlash from certain anti-China hawks in the US Congress and forcing the White House to state that Huawei was an “untrusted” vendor and a “threat to the security of the US and allies.”

Global Times