Chinese technology giant Huawei is facing a landmark criminal trial in the United States amid Washington’s long-running tech rivalry with Beijing.
asserted
Huawei → face → Beijing
The trial began in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on September 9, with US prosecutors portraying Huawei as a criminal enterprise that spent two decades stealing technology from US companies, deceiving banks and circumventing sanctions on Iran.
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that → begin → Iran
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companies → profit → regions
Lots of cheap energy
Huawei has pleaded not guilty and says the US government is attempting to turn ordinary business disputes and the actions of individual employees into evidence of a company-wide conspiracy.
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government → plead → conspiracy
The trial is expected to last about three months and overlaps with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s September 23-25 visit to Washington, where trade, artificial intelligence, tariffs and access to critical technologies are likely to be on the agenda.
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trade → expect → agenda
Here is what you need to know:
What are the allegations against Huawei?
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allegations → need → Huawei
US prosecutors have accused the company of racketeering, money laundering, bank and wire fraud, sanctions violations, obstruction and conspiring to steal trade secrets from five US technology companies.
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prosecutors → accuse → companies
Prosecutors say the alleged wrongdoing stretched from about 1999 to 2020.
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wrongdoing → say → 2020
“Theft, lies, cover-up,” Justice Department lawyer Taylor Stout said in his opening remarks.
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Stout → say → remarks
Prosecutors allege Huawei stole technology, including internet-router source code from Cisco and a robotic arm used by T-Mobile to test phones.
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Huawei → allege → phones
They also accuse Huawei of concealing the nature of its operations in Iran to move US dollars through the financial system despite US sanctions.
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They → accuse → sanctions
The government also alleges that Huawei supplied equipment that could help Iranian authorities monitor protesters during demonstrations in 2009.
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authorities → allege → 2009
How has Huawei responded?
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Huawei → respond → ?
Huawei, a major manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, denies any wrongdoing.
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Huawei → deny → wrongdoing
The tech giant’s lawyer Brian Heberlig told jurors the case was about “competition, not conspiracy.
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case → tell → conspiracy
Heberlig accused prosecutors of “cherry-picking isolated events” to construct a conspiracy that did not exist.
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that → accuse → conspiracy
Huawei’s defence says some incidents involved individual employees whose actions were dealt with internally, rather than reflecting company policy.
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actions → say → policy
He told jurors that prosecutors will describe routine activities by global tech companies “but will twist those ordinary activities to try to make them look criminal”.
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them → tell → activities
Huawei separately described the broader prosecution as an attempt to undermine its competitiveness, saying the US government’s “overarching narrative is demonstrably false” and that it had “the utmost respect for intellectual property”.
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it → describe → property
The case originated during Donald Trump’s first presidency.
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case → originate → presidency
His administration placed Huawei on a US trade blacklist in 2019 and pushed allies to exclude the company from 5G networks, arguing its equipment could present national security and espionage risks.
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equipment → place → risks
Huawei has repeatedly denied that its technology is used for spying.
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technology → deny → spying
Beijing has strongly criticised the prosecution, which has come weeks ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the US.
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which → criticise → US
On Thursday, a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said “the Chinese government firmly opposes the US side’s suppression and containment of Chinese enterprises”, when asked about the case and the American prosecutor’s “criminal enterprise” description.
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government → say → case
China “firmly supports Chinese enterprises in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests”, the spokesperson said at a regular news conference.
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spokesperson → support → conference
What is Huawei, and has the tech giant faced investigations before?
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giant → face → investigations
It also produces smartphones and has become increasingly important to China’s semiconductor and AI industries.
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It → produce → industries
Its activities have drawn scrutiny well beyond the current US trial.
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activities → draw → trial
Belgian prosecutors launched an investigation in 2025 into suspected bribery involving the European Parliament allegedly for Huawei’s benefit.
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prosecutors → launch → benefit
The European Parliament subsequently suspended access for Huawei lobbyists.
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Parliament → suspend → lobbyists
Huawei said it had “zero-tolerance” for corruption and would cooperate with authorities.
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it → say → authorities
Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou made worldwide headlines in 2018 when she was arrested on a US warrant after landing in Vancouver, straining both US-China and China-Canada relations.
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she → make → relations
The warrant was filed after a sealed indictment accused her and the company of bank fraud for misleading HSBC and other banks about Huawei’s business in Iran.
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indictment → file → Iran
She returned to China in 2021 under a deferred prosecution agreement, and the charges against her were later dismissed.
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charges → return → her
Admissions Meng made as part of that agreement can, however, be presented as evidence in Huawei’s current trial after a US judge ruled them admissible in June.
Are these issues related to the US-China trade war?
They are legally separate but form part of a much wider economic and technological competition between Washington and Beijing.
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They → make → Washington
Huawei became one of the most prominent targets of US restrictions during Trump’s first term.
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Huawei → become → term
Since then, the rivalry has expanded from telecommunications and 5G into semiconductors and AI, with Washington restricting China’s access to advanced US chips and chipmaking technology.
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Washington → expand → chips
Last week, Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, warned that a “Chinese lead in AI would pose grave danger for the US and the world” and urged Washington to maintain restrictions on cutting-edge AI tech.
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lead → warn → tech
He also called for action against alleged “distillation” of US models by Chinese AI laboratories.
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He → call → laboratories
China’s Foreign Ministry on September 14 accused the US tech giant of “fearmongering”.
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Ministry → accuse → fearmongering
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
