HONG KONG: China's Huawei Technologies is bidding to sell equipment for the expansion of the wireless broadband network of US mobile operator Sprint Nextel, the Financial Times cited sources as saying late on Thursday.

The deal will require at least an informal nod from the US government and represents Huawei's first serious enter into the country since the world's second-largest mobile gear maker was forced in 2008 to abandon a joint $2.2 billion bid for network supplier 3Com Corp over security concerns, the paper said.

Huawei officials declined to comment on the FT report, which cited sources close to the matter.

"As part of our ongoing business in the US, we always bid for contracts," a Huawei spokesman told Reuters.

If approved, it would be the first time the Shenzhen-based Huawei has sold equipment to a large US telecommunications operator, though it has made sales to smaller US operators.

Analysts believe the deal could help clear the way for the Chinese company to break into the US market and make at least one significant acquisition.