The relationship between the US and Chinese phone maker Huawei has officially boiled over. The tensions have been mounting for nearly a year a half, starting with carriers pulling out of deals to provide Huawei phones and escalating to full-blown trade bans and the unprecedented revocation of Huawei’s Android license. All the while, the US has sought the extradition of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei, on fraud charges. The primary source of the controversy, however, is the long-held belief from lawmakers and the US intelligence community that Huawei acts on behalf of the Chinese government, undermining US national security and posing cybersecurity and privacy risks for American and UK customers. With Huawei cut out of Google’s official Android licensing program, the company’s future hangs in the balance, creating uncertainty about the future of Chinese businesses amid President Donald Trump’s trade war and raising serious questions about Huawei’s role in the Windows and 5G ecosystems going forward. [Video: The Huawei ban is MUCH bigger than you think]
