, 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.