Sichuan Changhong Electric, a leading Chinese television maker, is working on plans to recover part of a $467.5m debt it says it is owed by Apex Digital, a US electronics distributor.

Changhong said it was initially aiming to recover at least $150m of the total from Apex, the California-based company that distributes low-cost televisions and other household electronics to big-name American retailers. The manufacturer said it would try to recover those funds in a variety of ways.