China could grant approval to U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm Inc.'s $44 billion takeover of Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a Beijing official.

After U.S. President Donald Trump said he would try to make sure China's ZTE Corp. got back in business, China has softened its stance on a number of pending deals. The two sides recently wrapped up a second day of talks with China agreeing to buy more U.S. goods and services but stopping short of committing to any specific amount of purchases.

Chinese regulators recently gave approval to the $18 billion acquisition of Toshiba Corp.'s chip unit by Bain Capital LP and Arizona-based Microchip Technology Inc.'s $8.35 billion acquisition of Microsemi Corp. ZTE is a telecommunication-equipment producer that teetered on the brink of collapse amid U.S.-China trade tensions.

Reuters reported, citing sources, that the pending Qualcomm/NXP deal had yet to see any concrete breakthrough in China. Eight of the nine required global regulators have approved the deal with only the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's approval pending.