The US government softened its stance on Xiaomi, agreeing to remove the Chinese smartphone maker from a list which barred domestic companies from investing in it.

A court filing showed the US Department of Defence (DoD) agreed to cooperate with Xiaomi to end an ongoing legal row, which was launched by the Chinese company following the investment ban.

The government put Xiaomi on the list in January: it restricts US companies investing in businesses the DoD claimed are owned or controlled by the Chinese military.

Xiaomi initiated legal action against two US government departments seeking to overturn the ban, arguing labelling it as a “communist Chinese military company (CCMC) was factually incorrect”.

Its legal action resulted in a US court ordering a temporary halt on the ban, stating the government had failed to show sufficient evidence for its claims.

The DoD has now agreed a “final order vacating” Xiaomi from the designation as a CCMC “would be appropriate”. It will now negotiate with the vendor over terms for its removal from the list with the aim of delivering a “joint proposed order” to the court on or before 20 May.