Decoded: Is Huawei a Trump bargaining chip?

Many view the US action against Huawei Technologies Co. as just another twist in President Donald Trump’s broader trade war. That may be naive. It’s also the world’s best hope of avoiding a more damaging conflict.

Optimists expect Trump to let Huawei off the hook eventually after using the company as a bargaining chip to squeeze trade concessions from Beijing, in the same way that he did with the smaller Chinese electronics maker ZTE Corp. last year.

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It’s unlikely to play out that way, though. the U.S. administration’s twin decisions last week to halt the use of Huawei equipment and block the sale of components to the Chinese company are a major escalation beyond trade-war posturing. The Commerce Department’s decision to offer temporary relief for some U.S. customers using Huawei equipment is only a minor easing.