Donald Trump’s Huawei threat is the nuclear option to halt China’s rise

The Trump administration is pulling out the big guns in its push to slow China’s rise, with potentially devastating consequences for the rest of the world.

The White House on Wednesday initiated a two-pronged assault on China: barring companies deemed a national security threat from selling to the US, and threatening to blacklist Huawei Technologies Co from buying essential components.

If it follows through, the move could cripple China’s largest technology company, depress the business of American chip giants from Qualcomm Inc to Micron Technology Inc, and potentially disrupt the roll-out of critical 5G wireless networks around the world.