China’s antitrust authorities have threatened to arrest representatives of a US patent licensing company that is embroiled in a legal dispute with telecoms equipment maker Huawei, the US group has said.

The claim comes as China’s National Development and Reform Commission, its powerful central planning agency, has taken a more assertive stance on enforcing the country’s monopoly laws against foreign companies. Wireless technology has become a recent focus as China prepares for the launch of new high-speed 4G networks.

Interdigital, a San Diego-based intellectual property group that holds a portfolio of patents in high-speed wireless communications, said that the NDRC had warned it that any executives or legal representatives who attends a meeting that is set to take place in Beijing today might be detained or arrested.