Both the US and UK have issued warnings about the Chinese technology and telecoms giant ZTE.

The decision by the US Commerce Department to ban American firms from selling equipment to ZTE for the next seven years dates back to a case from a few years ago, when ZTE was accused by the US government of violating sanctions against Iran.

At the time, the US said if ZTE refused to comply, there would be consequences.

This week, the US made good on those threats and is hitting ZTE where it hurts.

A shortage of US components is likely to cause ZTE to miss shipment deadlines and lose orders, according to investment firm Jefferies. It has cut its estimates for ZTE sales by 13.5% in 2018 and 7.6% in 2019.

ZTE's chairman Yin Yimin has reportedly said this is a "crisis" and called for his 80,000 strong staff to remain calm, according to a leaked memo seen by the South China Morning Post.

And it's not just the US.

In a seemingly unrelated case, the UK on Monday warned companies about doing business with ZTE, saying its cyber-defence watchdog has blacklisted the Chinese firm over concerns of national security.

Granted, these are two different issues, but the incidents highlight one glaring fact: the West is increasingly suspicious of Chinese tech.

That suspicion is complicated by the current "geopolitical tension", says Chris DeAngelis of the ADG group in Beijing.

Regardless of whether there is truth to the national security concerns, the real issue, he says, is that the US and the UK want to ensure the survival of globally competitive firms that compete with ZTE.

The geopolitical tension Mr DeAngelis is referring to is the ongoing trade row between the US and China.

At the heart of this spat, as I've said before, is that the US says China forced American companies that wanted access to low-cost labour and the massive market to tie up with Chinese companies - in effect allowing them to copy and steal American ideas.

China says that's not true, and Beijing has been very vocal about the way it perceives its firms are being treated by the West.