ZTE denies reports of potential smartphone business divestiture
ZTE has dismissed rumors regarding the sale or restructuring of its mobile handset division following speculation of a joint venture with ByteDance.
ZTE issued a formal denial on November 3 in response to reports alleging the company planned to shift its smartphone operations into a new joint venture. These claims, which circulated on social media, suggested a partnership involving ByteDance and local state-owned investors. The company described the reports as factually incorrect and stated it is considering legal options to address the rumors.
Market speculation regarding a potential deal gained traction due to the existing collaborative relationship between ZTE and ByteDance. The two companies recently partnered on the development of the Nubia NaviX Ultra smartphone, which launched in mid-September and features ByteDance's Doubao AI assistant technology.
The rumors come amid broader industry efforts to integrate system-level AI agents into hardware, a segment where ZTE and ByteDance have sought to compete. Despite the recent cooperation on software integration, ZTE maintains that there are no plans to reorganize its handset business into a separate corporate entity.