""US lawmakers have repeatedly accused the company of being a threat to US national security, arguing that its technology could be used for spying by the Chinese government. ""

New Zealand has blocked Huawei equipment over national security concerns, after Australia imposed a similar ban on both Huawei and fellow communications firm ZTE.

The UK has not blocked firms from using Huawei, although BT, which dominates the UK's telecoms network, said this week it would not use the Chinese firm's equipment in its "core" 5G infrastructure.

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China is demanding the release of telecoms giant Huawei's chief financial officer, who has been detained in Canada.

Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the company's founder, could face extradition to the US.

She was arrested in Vancouver on 1 December, but the news was not made public at her request.

The charges remain unknown but the US has been probing Huawei over possible violation of sanctions against Iran.

China says her detention is possibly a rights abuse.

Ms Meng has sought a publication ban on the details of the arrest, which has been granted by the courts.

Huawei said it was "not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms Meng".

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The gloves are off

By Karishma Vaswani, BBC Asia Business Correspondent

It is hard to overstate the symbolism and significance of this event. Huawei is the crown jewel of Chinese tech and Ms Meng is effectively its princess.

Even though it's still not clear what the charges against her are, this is not simply a case about the arrest of one woman, or just one company.

This arrest could materially damage the relationship between the US and China at possibly one of the most sensitive times between the two countries in their long and torrid history.

The gloves are off. Things have taken a dramatic turn for the worse.

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