Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei (pictured) revealed the vendor would consider selling access to its 5G technologies to a company based outside Asia, with the buyer free to modify key elements and block access to products created, The Economist reported.

In an interview with the business magazine, the executive said for a one-off payment a buyer would be given access to the company’s existing portfolio of 5G patents, licences, code, technical blueprints and production expertise.

Both parties would then be free to change elements of the source code for their own individual products.

The potential cost to a prospective buyer was not disclosed. It was also unclear whether any sale would be targeted at existing companies with similar propositions or a newly-created entity.

However, The Economist reported any sale would be to a company based in “the West”.

While Huawei has been successful in a number of Western markets, as the trade war between the US and China escalated it has found itself in the firing line, with the US not only imposing its own sanctions on Huawei but pressing other nations to follow suit.

The US opened a number of investigations into the company covering everything from accusations of IP theft to allegations related to national security.

Huawei has strenuously denied all allegations made by the US and other countries, including those questioning the security of its 5G equipment.

Over the last two years, Huawei’s formerly rarely-interviewed CEO has increased his media presence and conducted a number of sessions with international news outlets. In various interviews, he has talked-up his company’s prospects in the face of the US ban, highlighted measures being taken to minimise the impact and defended the business from the various accusations.