China warns technology companies against cooperation with the US trade ban

The meetings would have involved three government divisions, suggesting that approval probably came from the highest ranks of the Chinese leadership. The officials did not mention Huawei's name, but there was no doubt that the company was involved.

Whether the threats have a lot of weight or not is another story. If it is correct, China does want companies to run the risk of violating US laws in order to preserve their relations with their Chinese factories and suppliers. They will not necessarily to have to do this (American companies are still free to use many Chinese products), but tech companies could end up in an untenable position if the trade war between the US and China intensified . It may be more of a bargaining chip to extract a compromise, not a serious warning. Not that companies can afford to ignore the threats – if China sticks to them, it could jeopardize the fate of the many technology companies that depend on the country.