ZTE Corp.'s finance chief said Washington should promote a fair business environment with less government interference, expressing frustration at the Chinese telecommunications-equipment maker's efforts to expand in the U.S.

ZTE and rival Huawei Technologies Co. have faced concerns in the U.S., Europe and India about potential Chinese government influence over the companies. ZTE encountered political obstacles when trying to supply network equipment to U.S. operator Sprint Nextel Corp.

Meanwhile, officials in China and the U.S. have called on each other to open their markets further.

"For Sprint last year, we should have had the qualifications to become their key partner. The government should promote a fair, equitable, normal and free commercial environment and it shouldn't interfere," Chief Financial Officer Wei Zaisheng said in an interview Wednesday.

ZTE is looking to expand its cooperation with the top-tier U.S. mobile operators: Sprint, AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA. ZTE supplies devices like mobile phones and wireless modems to the major carriers, but its network-equipment deals in the U.S. have been limited to smaller operators.

ZTE wouldn't rule out building a network-equipment factory in the U.S. but has no current plans to do so, Mr. Wei said.

ZTE and Huawei last year were named in a letter to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission when four U.S lawmakers pressed the agency to take a closer look at Chinese telecom-equipment makers and consider restrictions that would make it harder for them to conduct business in the U.S.

The letter was sent to the FCC just weeks before Sprint was expected to choose suppliers for a multibillion-dollar network upgrade. ZTE and Huawei were among six vendors bidding for the work.

Mr. Wei also said European Commission concerns about Chinese government support for ZTE were a "misunderstanding."

A European Commission document circulated last week said ZTE and Huawei benefit government support, including large credit lines from Chinese state-owned banks. Credit facilities available to ZTE "are a major selling point which enables ZTE to clinch deals on its export markets ahead of its competitors such as [wireless-modem maker Option NV] in Belgium, while shifting the entirety or majority of its risk of payment onto the Chinese policy banks," said the document, which was circulated to European Union national governments.

Mr. Wei said Wednesday that ZTE's credit lines are used for operating purposes, such as obtaining letters of credit, and have no direct relationship to its transactions with customers. The state-owned companies with stakes in ZTE don't interfere in its operations, he said. Two Chinese state-owned companies, Xi'an Micro-electronics Co. and Guang Yu Group, together own 17.3% of ZTE's share capital, a ZTE spokeswoman said.

ZTE is open to making acquisitions overseas but has no specific targets currently, Mr. Wei said. It is difficult to find targets with suitable technology or market positions that would supplement ZTE well, he said.

Mr. Wei said he expects ZTE's revenue this year will grow at least as fast as it did last year. ZTE last month estimated that operating revenue rose 17% last year to 70.33 billion yuan ($10.67 billion). The company plans to issue audited figures in March.

In China, ZTE recorded only single-digit revenue growth last year as network investment by Chinese operators fell off sharply from 2009, Mr. Wei said. Such investment could improve this year, he said.

ZTE had a 10.9% share of the $15.2 billion in revenue generated by the mobile-infrastructure market in the first half, according to IHS iSuppli. That put ZTE No. 4, behind Nokia Siemens Networks, Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson Co. and Huawei.