US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has announced that the Chinese telecoms equipment maker has signed a definitive agreement to pay more than one billion dollars in fines in exchange for the removal of US sanctions, DW reported.

Wilbur Ross unveiled details of the deal in an interview for US television channel CNBC on Thursday, saying that ZTE had agreed to pay out $1.4 billion (€1.18 billion) in return for the lifting of a ban that prevented it buying vital US components.

China's second-largest telecoms equipment maker was banned from the US market in April, after the company was caught violating US sanctions on Iran and North Korea and the terms of a subsequent plea agreement.

"At about 6 a.m. this morning, we executed a definitive agreement with ZTE. And that brings to a conclusion this phase of the development with them," Ross told CNBC.

Noting that the deal imposed the strictest compliance ever on any company, American or foreign, Ross added: "We are literally embedding a compliance department of our choosing into the company."