The Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE Corp. enlisted Hogan Lovells for lobbying help in April as the company pushed to ease penalties over past violations of U.S. sanctions against North Korea and Iran.

ZTE USA Inc. hired Hogan Lovells regulatory partner Aaron Cutler and former Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota, now a senior counsel at the firm, to lobby on national security issues and on the seven-year export ban against the company, according to a lobbying disclosure filed June 1. Cutler is a one-time aide to former U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor.