For any company, receiving a US Department of Justice indictment containing accusations that could land one of its senior executives in prison for decades would be the stuff of nightmares. 

But for Huawei and its chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, twin indictments in the US, one charging the company with attempted theft of trade secrets, wire fraud and obstruction of justice and one charging Ms Meng with conspiracy to defraud the US, bank fraud, wire fraud and obstruction of justice, are expected to be just the beginning.

The Chinese technology group, which like Ms Meng denies the charges, has become an emblem for Washington’s growing fears over China as a threat to US global economic and technological dominance. The China hawks in the Trump administration are therefore pushing for further punitive steps against Huawei beyond its prosecution in court over alleged violations of Iran sanctions and theft of technology owned by T-Mobile.