The latest reprieve comes after ZTE said last week it had appointed Matthew Bell as its new chief export compliance officer based in the United States. If imposed, a ban for U.S. component makers and software firms to do business with ZTE could cut off much of the Chinese network equipment and smartphone maker's supply chain.

ZTE's Hong Kong shares closed down 1.9 percent on Friday and is down 35 percent for the year to date due to uncertainty over the export restrictions.

UOB Kay Hian (Hong Kong) analyst Cindy Lam said the key catalyst for the stock would be a permanent removal of the ban, which will likely result in a small one-off penalty payment for ZTE.

Speculation arose earlier this year that ZTE might switch to non-U.S. component suppliers after the ban, but the fact that it was continuing to source chipsets from Qualcomm Inc was proof to some analysts such as Lam that ZTE was not switching suppliers and would work toward getting the ban lifted.

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