A year on, Huawei remains subject to a US trade ban that restricts it from selling products in the US. Now the US Commerce Department wants to go a step further and stop Huawei from making any products that use US technologies. 

The new rules mean that Huawei would need a license to use any US tech inside its Kirin series of processors that power its smartphones and tablets as well as telco equipment that it has deployed across the globe. That would be seriously restrictive. 

Huawei is currently holding its 17th annual Global Analyst Summit in Shenzhen and instead of pressing on with its programme was forced to use the opportunity to issue a strongly-worded statement hitting out at the latest proposed measures

"In its relentless pursuit to tighten its stranglehold on our company, the US government has decided to proceed and completely ignore the concerns of many companies and industry associations," said the statement. "This new rule will impact the expansion, maintenance, and continuous operations of networks worth hundreds of billions of dollars that we have rolled out in more than 170 countries."

Clearly this latest move is aimed not at national security issues, but disadvantaging a company that competes with many US firms - "this action puts America first, American companies first, and American national security first" said the Commerce Department. Huawei has tried to work on designing some technologies in the US to circumvent the ban and it's this that the US is strategically targeting. 

Huawei says the long term effect of this ruling will harm US companies. "This decision by the US government does not just affect Huawei. It will have a serious impact on a wide number of global industries.

"In the long run, this will damage the trust and collaboration within the global semiconductor industry which many industries depend on, increasing conflict and loss within these industries.

"The US is leveraging its own technological strengths to crush companies outside its own borders. This will only serve to undermine the trust international companies place in US technology and supply chains. Ultimately, this will harm US interests."

At the Global Analyst Summit, Huawei chairman Guo Ping admitted says that the company is currently "incapable of doing a lot of things ... survival is the keyword for us at present."