"I hope it means something good to us, but we are really focused more on our individual application," Mollenkopf told The Deal's annual corporate governance conference in New York.

Sources familiar with the matter had told Reuters that approval of the Qualcomm/NXP deal would depend on the progress of broader bilateral talks and the unwinding of a U.S. government ban on sales by U.S. companies to ZTE.

Qualcomm and NXP shares began trading in New York on Thursday up 4.5 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

(This story has been refiled to drop reference to sources from the headline)

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)