Chinese telecommunications company ZTE has come under fire for alleged violations of US export controls to Iran in recent days by the US Commerce Department. According to a US public notice on Monday, Washington is slapping export restrictions on the telecoms equipment maker over an alleged accusation that ZTE improperly exported controlled items to Iran.

The sanctions that took effect on Tuesday will cripple ZTE's ability to use American components. This will deal a heavy blow to the company in the short-term since it still relies heavily on Western suppliers such as Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Technologies Inc. for chipsets and other components.

Even though in the long-run, ZTE can rearrange its supplier sources and turn to other suppliers outside of the US, the sanctions, as some analysts have pointed out, may impair the brand's competitiveness and reputation in the market.

It's not the first time that the US has thrust restrictions or accusations at a Chinese company.

In 2012, the US House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee released a report, alleging Chinese telecoms equipment manufacturers Huawei and ZTE posed threats to US national security. Severely, it called for the two telecom giants to be banned from any business activities on US turf.

Ironically, Washington's warning disregards the fact that the market share of US high-tech companies in China is much bigger than that of Chinese companies in the US.

With the US having lifted most of its sanctions against Iran and bilateral relations thawing, the timing of the sanctions against ZTE has raised questions. In an election year, China and Chinese companies are more likely to be scapegoated for scoring political points. ZTE, one of the leading Chinese companies, could be unfairly targeted.

ZTE has become the world's fourth-biggest smartphone manufacturer and Huawei has provided telecom equipment to most countries of the world. The rise of Chinese companies is certainly a thorn and considered as a challenge to US dominance of the global information industrial chain.

So far, the US is holding firm to its global financial hegemony. This position hasn't been shaken and it will be hard to challenge it in the foreseeable future. But Washington uses financial sanctions as a tool for its own interest and to consolidate its hegemony at the cost of foreign companies' interests.

However, as the repercussions expand, the US will finally pay the price for any of its unfair treatment against Chinese companies. Tens of thousands of US jobs are supported by ZTE's technology purchases. US technology suppliers such as Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Technologies Inc. will also take the consequences after the sanctions against ZTE take effect.