China's authoritarianism, not Trump's bombastic premiership, is shutting Huawei out of the west

Fears of corporate China’s malign influence may sometimes be exaggerated, but let’s keep the country out of our telecoms infrastructure

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires last year (AP)

A robot called “Tappy” which monotonously jabs away at mobile phone screens does not, let’s face it, sound like the most sophisticated of technologies.

So it’s possible to feel a degree of sympathy with the Chinese firm Huawei which finds itself accused by the US Justice Department of the theft of this supposedly bleeding-edge bit of intellectual property from T-Mobile. The phrase “trumped-up charges” (in every sense) comes to mind.

Yet, of course, there’s a bigger picture here than Tappy and Trump. There are questions that go beyond the agenda of the current occupant of the White House and his rabidly sinophobic advisers.