Meng’s arrest predated an escalation in Washington’s sanctions against Huawei that came the following year. Already barred from supplying telecoms gear to US government agencies over its alleged ties to Beijing, in May 2019 Huawei was added to Washington’s entity list, banning it from buying products and services from US companies without US government approval.

In announcing the action, the Bureau of Industry and Security under the US Department of Commerce said Huawei and its affiliates were “deemed to be involved in activities … contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States”.

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Huawei has repeatedly denied the accusations levelled by the US.

Without the required export licenses for critical items like advanced chips and operating systems, Huawei needed to come up with viable long-term solutions to survive without US technology. Three months after being put on the entity list, it unveiled a self-developed operating system called Harmony OS, which had been in the works for some time but was fast tracked to be ready to install on handsets if it lost access to Google’s Android under the US trade ban.

The spotlight also fell on HiSilicon, Huawei’s secretive semiconductor unit which was developing its own chipsets for use in smartphone and networking products, with the longer term goal of replacing parts from US suppliers like Intel and Qualcomm. HiSilicon designed chips that were fabricated by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC).

Initially, the sanctions seemed to have little impact on Huawei, which reported record revenue of 858.8 billion yuan (US$121 billion) in 2019, up 19.1 per cent year on year, only slightly below its 19.5 per cent revenue growth rate the year before.

Tighter US export controls in 2019 did not hurt Huawei’s performance that much because “they were not as extensive as they are now”, said Tan Albayrak, a Brussels-based lawyer who previously practised before the World Trade Organization and US court. In addition, Huawei had been stockpiling semiconductors from US suppliers in anticipation of losing access and was ramping up orders from TSMC.

The hammer blow came in May this year when Washington expanded its sanctions by requiring foreign chip makers that use US technology to apply for a license to sell chips to Huawei. That vastly expanded Washington’s reach by bringing TSMC under its remit and marked a significant escalation by the US in that it cut Huawei off from most global chip suppliers.

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The extradition case is expected to continue until at least April 30 next year. Meng’s legal team have said Canada violated her rights when she was not told she was about to be arrested when she handed over her electronic devices and passwords and answered border officers’ questions. The defence also depicted the handing over of Meng’s device passwords as part of a covert evidence-gathering exercise conducted on behalf of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Huawei said it trusts the Canadian judicial system to “uphold integrity and ensure justice for all”.

“Huawei has always had great confidence in Meng Wanzhou’s innocence. We will continue to support her in unveiling the truth behind the abuse of her rights,” Huawei said in a statement when asked to comment on the case.

If the Canadian court grants the US request to extradite Meng, it could be the first big test of US-China relations under the new Biden Administration.

“The government of China is likely to use any and all means available for her return, which – depending on the means – have the potential to elevate tensions to the next level,” said Albayrak. “Of course, the level of tension will also depend on the rhetoric and approach of the incoming Biden Administration.”

Albayrak expects US chip makers will ramp up their lobbying in Washington after inauguration day on January 20 with the hope that Biden Administration officials will be more willing to listen to economic considerations and not be focused solely on national security.

“A very significant portion of US chip makers’ revenue comes from sales to China, which in turn is invested as research and development,” said Albayrak. “R&D is what keeps a country ahead of the curve in any given field.”

In a sign that commercial considerations are being taken into account to some extent, Qualcomm has confirmed that it received a license to sell 4G chips to Huawei.

As 2020 rolled on, the tighter US controls on tech and the impact of the coronavirus on global economic growth finally started to take a toll on Huawei. For the first nine months of the year, its revenue rose 9.9 per cent year on year to 671.3 billion yuan compared to growth of 24.4 per cent in the same period the year before.

Huawei’s biggest sacrifice in the face of US sanctions came late last month when it sold its Honor budget smartphone business to a consortium of more than 30 agents and dealers. Ren likened the move to a divorce and said it was necessary so that Honor, its employees and suppliers would not be dragged into the fight between the US and Huawei.

“Huawei has had no alternative but to adapt, reducing its reliance on US sourced tech and components and considering the markets it can sell to and operate in,” said Haswell. “Ultimately, Huawei is likely to benefit from this, since out of adversity often comes innovation.”