Donald Trump (pictured) opened the door to easing restrictions against Huawei, suggesting the company could be part of a wider trade deal between the US and China.

Addressing the issue at the White House, Trump insisted Huawei posed a national security risk and was “very dangerous”, but added that it was possible a deal with China could help Huawei’s situation.

“If we made a deal, I could imagine Huawei being possibly included in some form or some part of it,” Trump said.

Last week, the US government added Huawei to a list of businesses barred from buying components from companies in the country, which could have severe ramifications for the Chinese company.

Google and chip designer Arm are two of the major companies that have said they will suspend activities with Huawei.

Huawei maintains US fears it uses its equipment to spy for the Chinese government are unfounded, and the Chinese government has accused Trump’s administration of bullying the company.

“The best response to the US bullying is that Chinese firms continue to grow stronger,” China Ministry of Commerce representative Gao Feng, said.

Broader boost
In addition to Google and Arm, electronics giant Panasonic also stated it had stopped shipping certain components to Huawei.

However, the company issued another statement on its website yesterday (23 May) confirming it was proceeding to supply Huawei normally.

Taiwanese chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) also provided Huawei a boost, stating it could continue to deliver semiconductors to the company without infringing on the US ban.

Nikkei Asian Review reported TSMC, which is a major supplier to Huawei, had taken advice from a US law company and concluded its chipmaking would not fall foul of the US restrictions.